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SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST 
ALONG   THE   ROCKIES 

WILLIAM    NICCOLLS    SLOAN 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST 
ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 


BY 
REV.  WILLIAM  NIGGOLLS  SLOAN,  Ph.D, 

AUTHOR  OP  "SOCIAL  REGENERATION" 


HODDER  &  STOUGHTON 

NEW  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1913 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


DEDICATED 

TO 

THE  CAUSE  OF  HOME  MISSIONS 

AND 

MY   FELLOW-WORKERS 

WHO  ARE  LABORING  FOR  THE  MORAL  AND 
SPIRITUAL    UPLIFT    OF    THE    RISING 
EMPIRES  OF  THE  WEST,   AND  THE 
CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  AMER- 
ICAN CIVILIZATION. 


PREFACE 

WHILE   giving   a   series   of   addresses    in 
Eastern  cities  on  home  missionary  work 
in  the  West,  I  was  agreeably  surprised  at 
the  interest  manifested  in  my  story  of  western  con- 
ditions, especially  that  part  of  the  West  adjacent  to 
or  near  the  Rocky  Mountain  districts,  and  more 
particularly  Montana,  the  state  I  represented. 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  addresses  a  great  many 
people  came  forward  with  inquiries  for  printed  mat- 
ter covering  the  general  scope  of  my  discourses. 

I  then  became  conscious  of  the  sparsity  of  litera- 
ture concerning  missionary  work  in  the  West,  as 
seen  from  the  standpoint  of  the  missionary  on  the 
field. 

Books  of  historical  character  have  been  pub- 
lished, but  these  contain  little  information  as  to  the 
spiritual  conquest  going  on  in  these  rising  empires 
along  the  Rockies. 

The  idea  came  forcibly  to  my  mind  that  there 
was  need  for  a  book  giving  to  the  public,  from  a 
personal  and  experimental  viewpoint  the  informa- 
tion, suggestions  and  experience  here  related,  fresh 
from  the  field  of  Christian  activity. 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

These  chapters  have  been  written  under  the  pres- 
sure of  strenuous  duties,  which  necessarily  inter- 
rupted regular  hours  of  study.  Some  were  written 
in  railroad  stations,  while  waiting  for  delayed 
trains  (one  great  source  of  annoyance  in  mountain 
travel),  and  in  hotels  where  quiet  was  out  of  the 
question  and  concentration  of  mind  difficult. 

It  is  with  the  hope  of  supplying  something  in  the 
way  of  information  and  suggestion,  that  will  kindle 
additional  interest  in  the  spiritual  conquest  of  these 
Western  States,  destined  to  be  potential  factors  in 
the  future  history  of  our  nation,  that  these  chapters 
on  a  variety  of  subjects  are  given  to  the  public,  be- 
lieving whatever  merit  they  may  possess  is  based  on 
the  fact  that  they  come  first  hand  from  experience 
and  from  a  heart  sincerely  interested  in  planting 
the  standard  of  the  Gospel  in  all  our  land. 

W.  N.  SLOAN. 
Helena,  Montana. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST,  OR  THE  - 
LURE  OF  GOLD i 

II    THE  SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST,  OR  THE 

LURE  OF  THE  FARM 18 

III  OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY     .     .     36 

IV  HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS  ....     67 
V    EVANGELIZING  REMOTE  PLACES     .     .     .98 

VI  ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED?  .   117 

VII  REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN     .     .     .  135 

VIII  RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST.     .     .170 

IX  RECREATION  HOURS 196 

X  LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK  214 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST 
ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 


Spiritual  Conquest  Along  the 
Rockies 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST,  OR  THE  LURE 
OF  GOLD- 

THE  rush  for  gold,  the  reaction,  and  the 
second  emigrant  tide  westward  for  land, 
mark  three  successive  periods  in  the  con- 
quest of  the  West.  The  first  tide  set  in  when  gold 
was  discovered  on  the  Pacific  Coast  in  1848.  The 
United  States  came  into  full  possession  of  Cali- 
fornia as  early  as  1847  without  any  serious  conflict 
in  arms.  It  was  a  bloodless  revolution,  if  not  an 
entirely  peaceful  one,  that  placed  this  state  under 
the  authority  and  protection  of  the  Stars  and 
Stripes.  Yerba  Buena  was  re-christened  San  Fran- 
cisco, when  the  great  American  seaport  on  the  west 
coast  was  established.  It  had  already  been  partly 
Americanized  by  association  with  trappers  and  a 
few  early  settlers.  The  possession  of  California 
was  in  reality  decided  by  the  results  of  the  war 
over  Texas  in  1846.  It  has  been  truthfully  said 

i 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

by  one  historian  that  "  by  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo,  Mexico  relinquished  territory  which  she 
had  never  been  able  to  develop,  and  made  way  for 
the  erection  of  the  new  America  on  the  Pacific." 
(The  Last  American  Frontier.  Frederic  L.  Pax- 
son.) 

It  was  not  until  the  discovery  of  gold  in  January 
1848  at  Sutter's  millrace,  a  tributary  stream  of  the 
Sacramento,  that  sufficient  inducement  was  offered 
for  emigrants  in  large  numbers  to  cross  the  plains 
and  two  great  mountain  ranges,  or  go  around  the 
Cape  by  sea.  It  took  a  year  or  more  for  the  news 
to  reach  remote  centres  of  population  thousands  of 
miles  away.  Then  the  news  of  the  world  was  not 
read  every  morning  in  the  daily  newspapers,  but 
had  to  percolate  through  devious  and  tedious  meth- 
ods. Therefore,  it  was  not  until  1849  that  the  tide 
of  emigration  set  in  from  the  far  East.  The  water 
route  was  very  costly  and  the  land  route  very  dan- 
gerous, but  most  of  them  chose  to  go  by  land. 

The  emigration  of  the  forty-niners  was  attended 
with  untold  suffering  and  sickness.  Cholera  broke 
out  among  the  trains,  ending  the  earthly  journey  of 
hundreds. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  in  accurate  figures  the  num- 
ber of  overland  emigrants,  but  the  most  conserva- 
tive, place  the  number  between  forty  and  fifty  thou- 
sand, who  represented  all  countries  and  conditions 
of  society.  After  this  there  followed  in  close  suc- 

2 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

cession  of  years,  the  coming  of  the  early  pioneers  to 
Nevada,  Colorado,  Montana,  Utah,  and  last  but  not 
least,  Alaska.  This  call  appealed  to  almost  every 
nationality,  grade  and  condition  of  humanity.  The 
college  graduate,  the  young  merchant,  the  common 
laborer,  the  adventurer,  the  bad  and  the  good;  in 
fact  all  classes,  of  both  low  and  high  degree  were 
represented  among  those  who  followed  the  star  of 
empire  in  its  westward  course.  Perhaps  the  seek- 
ers for  quick  fortunes  and  adventures  constituted 
the  larger  number.  They  all  came,  all  saw,  but 
only  a  few  conquered. 

Large  capital  was  not  needed  in  that  day  of  early 
placer  mining ;  only  a  courageous  spirit,  strong  mus- 
cle, spade  and  pick-ax,  blankets  and  frying  pan, 
were  the  necessary  equipments.  An  optimistic 
spirit,  inflamed  by  hope,  wrought  miracles  in  the 
wilderness.  Deserts  were  crossed,  rivers  forded, 
mountains  scaled,  life  hourly  jeopardized  by  hostile 
Indians,  death  by  starvation  threatened,  heat  of 
summer  and  cold  of  winter,  were  all  experienced  by 
the  early  pioneers  of  the  West.  "  They  felt  that 
awful  pause  of  blood  and  breath,  which  life  endures 
when  it  confronts  with  death."  These  dangers  and 
hardships  beyond  description,  and  many  trials  un- 
dreamed, and  as  yet  untold,  were  endured  by  those 
who  obeyed  the  first  summons  of  the  call  to  these 
now  rapidly  growing  empires.  This  was  the  lure 
of  gold.  Reports  of  every  new  strike  in  Devil's 

3 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Canyon,  Spotted  Gulch,  Poverty  Basin,  Bonanza 
Creek,  and  Last  Chance  Hollow,  were  sufficient  to 
start  a  new  stampede  for  the  pot  of  gold. 

They  came  in  ship  loads  as  far  as  old  ocean  would 
carry  them;  from  Australia,  from  the  Orient,  from 
Islands  of  the  sea,  from  South  America,  and  from 
all  parts  of  Europe.  They  came  on  steamboats  up 
the  rivers  as  far  as  their  flat  bottom  vessels  could 
be  forced  by  steam  or  oars ;  then  further  on  by  ox- 
carts and  stage,  seeking  with  feverish  haste  their 
expected  Eldorado.  In  every  settlement  were 
found  the  Englishman,  the  Frenchman,  the  Ger- 
man, and  last  but  not  least,  the  Irishman  with  his 
natural  born  wit  and  optimism. 

These  were  strenuous  days.  Interest  became  ex- 
citement, and  excitement  enthusiasm,  and  in  some 
cases  almost  madness.  The  faith  that  overcomes 
(if  it  does  not  remove)  mountains,  inspired  courage 
and  forced  habitation  in  hitherto  wilderness  regions. 

The  first  comer  staked  his  claim  and  held  it  down 
with  loaded  gun,  against  thieves  and  robbers,  who  in 
the  absence  of  law  and  order,  called  might,  right. 
When  we  remember  that  gold  is  the  one  essential 
element  to  make  possible  all  material  conquest,  and 
that  it  is  one  chief 'source  of  supply  for  civilization, 
there  is  a  manifest  reason  for  the  power  it  exerts. 

In  all  cases  of  unwarranted  expansion  and  ab- 
normal excitement,  either  in  material  or  spiritual 
things,  there  is  sure  to  follow  the  depression  of  re- 

4 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

action.  The  occupation  of  the  far  West  was  no 
exception  to  this  rule.  After  the  rush  of  the  first 
few  years  of  gold  seeking,  there  was  a  period  of 
reaction,  the  natural  result  of  undue  inflation. 
From  the  panic  of  1893  till  early  in  1900,  there  was 
little  increase  in  the  population  of  the  mining  states. 
Silver  mines  on  account  of  lower  values,  were 
closed.  Towns  and  cities  were  drained  of  that 
floating  population  which  constantly  seeks  high  tide 
for  its  existence. 

Mining,  however,  was  not  the  only  inducement 
that  attracted  the  pioneer  to  the  West.  Some  saw 
great  opportunities  in  the  vast  extent  of  pasture 
lands,  and  turned  their  attention  to  stock-raising. 
This  proved  to  be  exceedingly  profitable.  The 
buffalo  grass  on  which  thousands  of  buffalo 
pastured  before  the  days  of  settlement,  was  found 
to  be  nutritious  for  horses,  cattle  and  sheep.  Till 
within  a  few  years  it  was  not  necessary  for  the 
stockman  to  own  extensive  tracts  of  land,  in  order 
to  support  large  herds  of  domestic  animals.  All 
the  capital  needed  was  enough  to  purchase  a  small 
herd,  which,  turned  loose  with  the  owner's  brand, 
would  naturally  increase  and  multiply  without  much 
care  and  scarcely  any  cost.  Horses  especially, 
would  grub  for  their  own  living  both  summer  and 
winter.  Flocks  of  sheep  had  to  be  herded  by  shep- 
herds, corralled  at  night  and  guarded  through  the 
day  for  protection  from  wolves  and  coyotes.  All 

5 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

was  open  land  and  free  pasture  on  Uncle  Sam's  do- 
main. This  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  lucrative 
business  and  free  for  the  most  part  from  the  risks 
and  hazards  of  mining  operations.  Many  of  these 
early  stockmen  are  to-day  the  retired  capitalists  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  states.  In  this  respect  there 
has  come  a  great  change  the  last  few  years.  Uncle 
Sam  has  surveyed  his  public  lands,  and  in  valleys 
and  along  streams  the  homesteader  has  filed  his 
claim  for  160  acres.  By  a  recent  act  of  Congress 
he  can  now  secure  320  acres  by  public  grant  in  cer- 
tain sections  of  the  West.  Around  his  allotment, 
the  rancher  builds  a  wire  fence  and  by  complying 
with  the  law  and  rules  of  the  homestead  act,  can 
claim  these  acres  for  his  own  personal  property. 
In  three  years  he  is  granted  a  patent  from  the  gov- 
ernment. There  is  much  territory  yet  unsurveyed 
and  unclaimed,  but  a  large  part  is  barren  and  rocky 
and  mountainous  land,  and  useful  mostly  for  pas- 
turage. 

The  big  stockmen  do  not  contribute  much  to  the 
development  of  a  country.  The  big  land  owner 
will  some  day  be  considered  an  undesirable  citizen. 
In  many  respects  he  hinders  settlement.  He  closes 
the  door  of  opportunity  to  the  land-hungry  of  small 
capital.  His  enrichment  comes  from  a  vast  extent 
of  territory,  which  requires  a  very  small  number  of 
cowboys  and  sheep-herders  to  run  the  ranch. 
There  is  no  sowing,  plowing  or  reaping.  All  the 

6 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

work  required  on  a  stock  ranch  is  mostly  done  on 
horseback. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  ranch- 
man and  the  farmer.  Although  all  farmers  as  a 
rule  are  called  ranchmen  in  the  West,  and  whoever 
owns  a  few  acres  and  raises  a  few  chickens  and  cul- 
tivates a  potato  patch,  is  called  a  ranchman. 

The  rapid  change  which  is  now  taking  place  con- 
sists in  the  diminishing  number  of  ranchmen  and 
ever  increasing  number  of  farmers.  Before  the 
present  rush  for  homesteads  set  in,  many  stockmen 
were  far-seeing  enough  to  read  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  recognised  the  fact  that  the  day  was 
not  far  distant,  when  the  open  land  of  much  value 
would  be  possessed  by  the  farmer,  who  is  a  tiller 
of 'the  soil.  When  these  lands  could  be  purchased 
for  two  or  three  dollars  per  acre,  vast  tracts  were 
bought  and  fenced  for  individual  use.  It  is  not  an 
unusual  thing  to  find  thirty  or  forty  thousand  acres 
in  the  ownership  of  one  man. 

These  ranchmen  did  not  want  settlers  to  come 
in,  for  the  more  that  came,  the  more  limited  were 
their  liberties  and  the  more  circumscribed  their  pas- 
ture lands.  The  laws  of  social  and  civic  conditions 
infringe  on  personal  liberty  just  in  proportion  as  a 
country  or  district  becomes  thickly  settled.  Our 
neighbour's  rights  must  be  considered  as  well  as  our 
own.  In  cities  we  have  not  the  liberties  that  are 
enjoyed  in  country  life.  The  more  dense  the  popu- 

7 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

lation,  the  greater  necessity  for  restraining  laws, 
as  personal  rights  must  conserve  the  interests  of 
all  the  community.  In  cities  we  must  consult  mu- 
nicipal authority  as  to  what  kind  of  a  sidewalk  we 
purpose  to  construct  and  what  kind  of  a  house  we 
intend  to  build.  Sanitary  conditions  are  under  the 
surveillance  of  a  power  whose  exercise  is  at  least 
supposed  to  conserve  the  interests  of  all,  rich  and 
poor,  high  and  low.  This  explains  why  the  home- 
steader's interests  conflict  with  those  of  the  exten- 
sive stockman.  Here  is  the  ground  of  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  big  land  owner  and  stockraiser,  to 
the  coming  of  the  farmer.  Selfishness  of  the  hu- 
man heart  is  the  basis  of  this  opposition.  How- 
ever, this  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the  stockmen 
is  fast  dying  out,  and  the  farmer  is  having  the 
right  of  way  without  hindrance  or  serious  conten- 
tion. 

The  development  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  states 
reached  its  climax  before  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century,  so  far  as  mining  constituted  the 
factor  of  material  conquest;  not  because  mining  in- 
terests have  grown  less,  but  because  they  have  set- 
tled down  to  a  more  regular  and  scientific  basis. 
Placer  mining  has  come  to  be  largely  a  thing  of  the 
past.  Quartz  mining  requires  large  capital  and  ex- 
pensive machinery,  but  less  labour.  Nearly  ninety- 
nine  per  cent,  of  the  gold,  silver  and  copper  mined 
in  the  United  States,  and  forty  per  cent,  of  all  pro- 

8 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

duced  in  the  world,  is  the  product  of  territory  west 
of  the  Mississippi. 

Activity  in  the  production  of  copper,  lead  and 
zinc  was  greater  in  1909  than  any  previous  year. 
The  United  States  mineral  census  gives  the  total  out- 
put of  copper  from  the  smelters  to  be  1,092,951,624 
pounds.  The  total  quantity  of  refined  copper,  in- 
cluding domestic  and  foreign  ores,  the  following 
year,  was  1,391,021,454  pounds,  being  an  increase. 
In  the  production  of  copper,  Montana  led  all  other 
states,  with  Arizona  second,  Michigan  third  and 
Utah  fourth. 

Amount  of  mineral  produced  has  been  on  the  in- 
crease and  no  doubt  will  be  for  several  years  to 
come,  but  new  inventions  in  mechanical  appliances, 
make  larger  production  possible  with  much  less 
labor.  The  mining  interests  of  these  states,  com- 
posing the  mineral  region,  will  continue  to  be  in  the 
future  as  in  the  past,  one  of  the  chief  industries  of 
material  growth.  However,  this  source  of  wealth 
will  gradually  diminish  in  proportionate  value  to  the 
rapidly  growing  and  ever  increasing  products  of 
agriculture.  In  the  year  1910,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  Montana,  the  farm  products  were 
larger  than  those  of  the  mines,  yet  we  are  only  in 
the  infant  stage  of  agricultural  development.  Sci- 
ence has  already  contributed  much  and  every  year 
is  contributing  more,  to  an  increased  production  of 
the  soil  per  acre.  We  are  greatly  indebted  to  our 

9 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

agricultural  colleges  for  the  knowledge  which  has 
been  brought  home  to  the  farmer  through  the  far- 
mer's institutes,  published  pamphlets  and  books, 
giving  information  of  great  value  in  tilling  the  soil. 
The  time  is  not  very  far  in  the  past  when  education 
was  not  deemed  necessary  for  the  farmer.  Now  it 
is  understood,  that  to  be  a  good  farmer,  that  is  to 
get  the  best  results  from  the  same  amount  of  work 
and  land,  intelligence  is  even  more  necessary  than 
in  some  of  the  learned  professions. 

Lands  which  a  few  years  ago  were  considered 
worthless  and  called  desert  because  of  a  limited 
amount  of  rainfall,  are  now  discovered  to  be  pro- 
ductive, through  intelligent  conservation  of  the 
moisture. 

It  is  a  generally  accepted  truth  among  all  up-to- 
date  economists,  that  the  real  source  of  wealth  is  in 
the  land.  Therefore,  since  the  Great  American 
Desert  has  found  its  mission  and  purpose,  and  by 
scientific  culture  already  has  demonstrated  its  great 
possibilities,  that  many  parts  have  become  a  garden 
instead  of  a  desert,  we  are  just  beginning  to  realize 
some  of  the  undreamed  wealth  so  long  concealed 
from  the  vision  of  man. 

What  has  been  said  as  to  mining  interests  of  the 
West,  may  also  be  said  of  the  stock-raising  busi- 
ness. On  so  large  a  scale  it  is  on  the  decline. 
Great  ranches  are  being  divided  into  small  farms, 
and  the  small  farms  by  raising  a  little  stock,  will 

10 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

produce  more  in  the  future  than  the  big  rancher, 
owning  large  herds  and  big  acreage  has  produced 
in  the  past.  This  is  the  change  that  is  now  going 
on  in  the  material  conquest  of  the  West.  The  West 
has  entered  a  new  era  of  progress.  The  first  call 
of  the  West,  both  in  the  lure  of  gold  and  in  the  en- 
richment of  stockraising  on  a  large  scale,  either 
have  or  are  fast  becoming  things  of  the  past. 

This  first  call  continues  to  influence  the  invest- 
ment of  capital;  but  a  louder  and  more  persuasive 
call,  more  conducive  to  a  better  state  of  society,  and 
one  that  will  be  more  continuous  and  steady,  has 
become  the  greater  inducement  for  emigration  west- 
ward. 

The  cow-boy  period  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  The 
condition  of  society  as  represented  in  the  stories  of 
the  "Virginian/'  "The  Sky  Pilot,"  and  the 
"  Squaw  Man  "  are  true  only  of  the  earliest  stages 
of  growth  in  the  'development  of  the  West.  The 
Vigilantes  put  an  end  to  lawlessness  and  disorder, 
and  they  did  it  with  neatness  and  dispatch.  The 
"  wild  and  woolly  West  "  has  been  transformed  into 
a  civilised,  intelligent  and  progressive  West. 

Conditions  described  by  Bret  Harte  and  Mark 
Twain  have  long  since  passed  away.  Strange  to 
say,  some  people  still  think  of  the  West  as  a  region 
of  Indians,  cowboys  and  sage  brush.  A  far  dif- 
ferent West  has  come,  a  West  far  advanced  toward 
a  high  standard  of  education.  The  desert  is  liter- 

II 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ally  blossoming  as  the  rose.  The  bad  men  have 
either  become  law  abiding  or  were  hung  long  ago. 
Sage  brush  wastes  are  becoming  orchards  and  grain 
fields. 

Three  transcontinental  railroads  cross  the  state 
of  Montana,  each  having  over  eight  hundred  miles 
of  track.  They  are  the  Northern  Pacific,  the  Great 
Northern,  and  the  Pacific  Extension  of  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul,  built  in  the  order  of  time 
in  which  they  are  mentioned.  Branch  lines  are  be- 
ing built  by  these  several  roads  in  all  directions. 
They  have  a  vision  of  the  future  and  are  planning 
accordingly.  One  company  of  eastern  capitalists 
has  spent  about  $15,000,000  in  building  dams 
across  the  Missouri  River  near  Helena,  for  the 
generation  of  electrical  power.  There  is  no  justi- 
fication for  such  an  outlay  of  money  in  the  present 
stage  of  development.  They  are  building  for  the 
future.  Thirty  years  ago,  one  of  the  large  stock- 
holders of  the  Sante  Fe  Railroad,  then  being 
built  through  Kansas,  told  the  writer,  that  they  did 
not  expect  dividends  for  twenty-five  years  to  come. 
The  dividends  came  as  expected,  only  in  a  much 
shorter  time  than  the  years  mentioned.  It  takes 
the  vision  of  faith  to  make  investments  in  unseen 
material  riches ;  to  have  seen  in  the  unsettled  and  in 
many  respects  an  unpromising  country  as  western 
Kansas  was  then,  the  rich  reward  already  realized. 
That  dry  and  hot  prairie  then  a  parched  wilderness, 

12 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

is  now  crowded  with  rich  and  fruitful  farms,  large 
and  flourishing  cities  and  a  happy  and  contented 
people.  It  is  an  inspiring  sight  to  travel  across  al- 
most any  part  of  eastern  Montana  and  see  the 
changes  that  are  being  wrought.  The  great  broad, 
magnificent  bench  lands,  stretching  for  many  miles, 
are  dotted  now  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see  with  home- 
steaders' shacks,  either  in  course  of  construction  or 
completed.  Where  but  a  few  months  ago  there  was 
naught  on  these  vast  areas  but  a  band  of  sheep  or 
cattle  or  stray  coyote  to  greet  the  eye,  today  steam 
ploughs  or  horse  ploughs  are  at  work.  Towns  are 
springing  up  as  if  by  magic  hand.  Old  towns  are 
being  jarred  into  new  life.  In  the  northern  end  of 
the  state  from  Mondak  to  the  mountains,  practically 
every  acre  of  homestead  land  within  twenty-five 
miles  of  the  railroad  has  been  taken  up.  Big 
ranches  are  being  divided  into  small  farms.  Thus 
Montana  is  experiencing  a  movement  which  is 
changing  it  from  one  of  the  great  mining  states,  to 
a  commonwealth  which  will  be  rated  among  the 
wealthiest  and  most  productive  agricultural  districts 
in  the  United  States.  The  awakening  has  come  and 
a  new  era  of  prosperity  has  dawned  for  the  moun- 
tain country  so  long  supposed  valuable  only  for 
mineral  production  and  herding  ground  for  great 
flocks  of  sheep  and  cattle.  All  the  elements  of  this 
new  movement  portend  success  for  the  settlers. 
They  are  a  substantial  type  of  people  who  are  com- 

13 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ing  from  New  England  and  the  Middle  West. 
They  are  a  class  of  people  strong  of  muscle  and  en- 
dowed with  plenty  of  common  sense  and  a  deter- 
mination to  succeed.  They  are  tackling  a  hard 
problem,  one  that  requires  lots  of  brain  and  muscle. 
Most  of  them  realize  the  problem  they  are  facing  in 
attempting  to  farm  these  semi-arid  bench  lands,  but 
they  are  better  equipped  to  accomplish  this  work 
than  were  those  pioneers  who  met  the  same  prob- 
lems two  decades  ago  in  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska  and 
Kansas. 

The  agricultural  college  and  the  experimental 
farms  have  already  solved  many  of  the  problems 
for  these  people.  They  have  developed  for  them 
drouth  resisting  grains  and  root  plants.  They  have 
proved  by  actual  results  what  can  be  accomplished 
by  diligent  tillage  in  the  preservation  of  moisture 
by  summer  fallowing1  and  biennial  cropping.  And 
better  still  the  state  and  its  various  aids  are  keep- 
ing their  trained  agriculturists  right  on  the  job,  to 
assist  the  new  settlers,  teaching  them  how  to  disc, 
subsurface,  pack  and  harrow  the  land. 

With  a  rapidity  of  which  the  states  are  only  half 
aware,  is  this  Northwest  being  transformed  from  a 
sparsely  inhabited  land  of  sage  brush,  sheep  and 
barons  and  magnificent  distances,  to  a  settled,  pros- 
perous American  farming  country.  New  agricul- 
tural states  are  being  born.  The  changes  of  the 

14 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

last  dozen  years  have  been  revolutionary.  The  men 
interested  in  this  transformation  are  not  mere  ad- 
venturers, but  hard  headed  men  who  expect  a  re- 
turn on  their  investments. 

The  railway  development  in  the  states  of  the 
Northwest  in  the  last  few  years,  is  evidence  enough 
that  others  than  mere  adventurers  see  a  reasonable 
hope  of  permanent  development  and  prosperity.  It 
is  difficult  to  obtain  statistics  that  are  up  to  date 
on  this  development  now  going  on,  but  here  are 
some  facts  that  are  helpful.  During  the  summer 
of  1911,  a  dozen  combined  institutes  and  farmers* 
picnics  brought  together  more  than  six  thousand 
Montana  farmers,  practically  all  new  settlers  on  the 
land,  who  were  willing  to  drop  their  midsummer 
farm  work  for  instruction  by  the  farmers'  institute 
workers.  The  Northern  Pacific  farm  train  last 
May  took  instruction  to  nearly  twenty-five  thou- 
sand persons  in  the  course  of  two  weeks,  some  of 
whom  were  merely  curious  sight-seers  from  the 
towns,  but  the  majority  of  whom  were  farmers  anx- 
ious to  learn  what  the  exhibits  and  the  lecturers  had 
to  teach  them.  Ten  million  acres  of  public  land 
were  homesteaded  in  Montana  alone  in  the  two 
years  ending  July  I,  1911.  Fifty  thousand  origi- 
nal homestead  entries  and  five  thousand  desert  land 
claims  in  Montana  were  filed  with  the  United 
States  government  in  the  two  and  one-half  years 

15 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ending  January  I,  1911.  Inquiry  in  many  towns 
fails  to  show  a  deserted  homestead.  These  facts 
give  a  clue  to  what  is  going  on  in  the  state. 

Where  are  the  people  coming  from?  Mostly 
from  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  valleys  and  the 
north  central  states.  There  are  few  foreigners, 
nearly  all  the  newcomers  being  native  born  Ameri- 
cans. This  is  the  complementary  fact  which  ex- 
plains the  stationary  or  declining  farm  population 
in  the  Upper  Mississippi  Valley  which  is  a  startling 
revelation  of  the  recent  federal  census.  The  losses 
in  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  Wisconsin  are  gains  for 
the  Northwest.  We  feel  a  little  proud  of  the  class 
of  settlers  these  older  states  are  sending  us.  If  they 
are  the  more  adventurous,  they  are  also  the  more 
enterprising  and  ambitious. 

The  settlers  are  largely  of  that  class  who  are  will- 
ing to  take  advice  and  receive  instruction.  All  will 
not  succeed,  but  many  will.  Those  who  fail  will 
yield  their  portion  to  those  who  will  make  success 
where  others  failed.  The  parable  of  our  Lord  will 
be  illustrated,  in  that  the  one  who  has  not  increased 
his  portion,  will  resign  it  to  him  who  hath.  I  most 
firmly  believe  that  never  in  the  history  of  the  world 
were  opportunities  so  great  and  the  rewards  of  in- 
dustry so  sure,  as  they  are  in  this  splendid  country 
of  undeveloped  resources  of  the  soil.  The  first  call 
of  the  West  still  invites  capital,  but  always  at  con- 
siderable risk.  The  second  call  of  the  West  now 

16 


FIRST  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

invites  the  energetic,  the  tiller  of  the  soil,  and 
promises  rewards  such  as  are  sure  to  come  from  in- 
telligent exercise  of  muscle  and  plodding  persever- 
ance. 

Large  in  area,  rich  in  undeveloped  resources  and 
small  in  population,  are  terms  which  correctly  de- 
scribe the  Northwest.  It  offers  to-day  attractive 
opportunities  to  the  homeseeker  and  investor  of 
capital.  This  is  called  a  commercial  age.  Intelli- 
gent effort  is  the  price  of  success.  We  may  point 
with  pride  to  the  fact  that  for  nearly  half  a  century, 
the  West  has  poured  a  steady  and  ever  increasing 
stream  of  gold  into  the  commercial  centres  of  the 
nation.  This  life  blood  of  business  has  built  up 
great  industries,  stimulated  trade  and  done  much 
to  make  our  country  one  of  the  foremost  in  com- 
merce and  wealth.  This  stream  first  had  its  source 
in  the  mines  and  ranges,  and  now  the  mines,  ranges 
and  farms  combine  to  swell  its  volume. 

The  miners  were  the  pioneers  of  western  settle- 
ment, the  stockmen  were  the  heralds  of  western  de- 
velopment, and  the  farmers  are  now  becoming  a 
more  permanent  factor  in  commercial  life.  While 
the  mines  and  ranges  will  continue  to  contribute  in 
undiminished  volume,  the  harvests  of  our  farmers 
will  in  the  future  prove  the  greater  source  of  wealth. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST,  OR  THE  LURE 
OF  THE  FARM 

THE  second  call  of  the  West  is  not  in  thun- 
der tones,    but  in   the   still   small   voice. 
Though  not  accompanied  with  the  excite- 
ment of  the  first,  it  is   far  more  persuasive  and 
effectual,  in  bringing  more  people  and  of  a  much 
better  and  superior,  type,  in  the  virtues  which  make 
up  a  moral  state  of  society. 

The  United  States  represents  about  six  per  cent, 
of  the  population  of  the  globe,  yet  produces  forty 
per  cent,  of  the  world's  supply  of  wheat,  corn  and 
oats.  We  raise  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  world's 
cotton,  and  twenty-one  per  cent,  of  the  world's 
wheat.  This  indicates  clearly  that  with  all  our 
manufacturing  interests  and  mineral  wealth,  we  are 
preeminently  an  agricultural  people.  The  present 
development  of  the  West  is  now,  and  will  be  in  the 
future,  in  this  direction.  We  have  been  the  ex- 
porters of  the  bread-stuffs,  for  less  favored  and 
more  densely  populated  nations.  Yet,  unless  there 
is  both  more  extensive  and  intensive  farming,  the 
day  is  not  far  distant,  when  we  will  have  to  import, 

18 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

instead  of  export  our  bread.  The  home  demand 
for  wheat,  owing  to  our  rapid  increase  in  popula- 
tion, is  eighty  per  cent,  more  than  the  increase  of 
our  supply.  An  analysis  of  the  most  important 
articles  that  make  up  our  export  commerce,  shows 
that  while  our  exports  in  general  are  on  the  increase, 
there  is  a  significant  falling  off  in  the  amount  of 
agricultural  products  sent  to  foreign  countries. 
The  value  of  these  in  1908  was  $726,000,000;  in 
1909  it  had  fallen  to  $626,000,000,  and  in  1910  to 
$594,000,000.  The  current  writers  and  economists 
are  saying  that  the  United  States  has  already  lost 
her  position  as  one  of  the  most  important  granaries 
of  the  world;  that  within  a  generation  we  shall  be 
forced  to  import  grain  and  cattle  to  feed  our  peo- 
ple. We  believe,  however,  that  this  predicted  mis- 
fortune will  be  averted  by  the  vast  amount  of  new 
territory  now  being  brought  under  cultivation.  In 
January  of  1910,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
from  a  hotel  window  in  the  city  of  Great  Falls, 
with  temperature  ten  degrees  below  zero,  the  writer 
counted  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  women, 
mostly  men,  standing  in  line  waiting  their  turn  to 
register  on  government  land.  Similar  scenes  might 
have  been  witnessed  at  other  government  land  of- 
fices during  the  winter,  with  increased  numbers  in 
the  spring  months.  The  following  figures  will  in- 
dicate the  steady  advancement  made  in  Montana  the 
last  seven  years. 

19 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1905 2,386 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1906 3,398 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1907 3,347 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1908 5,329 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1909 7,942 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1910 21,982 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1911 15,399 

Number  of  homestead  filings  in  1912 13,419 

(In  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho  and  Colorado, 
there  was  a  proportionate  increase  for  the  above 
mentioned  years.) 

The  eastern  farms  have  exhausted  their  fertility, 
at  least  their  products  are  growing  less  both  in 
grains  and  fruits.  The  great  Middle  West  has  per- 
haps reached  its  maximum  production,  yet  land 
values  have  increased  to  such  prices  as  to  require 
considerable  capital  to  own  an  averaged  sized  farm. 
Hence  the  lure  of  the  farmer  to-day  is  farther  west. 
Not  only  the  cheapness  of  the  land,  but  the  produc- 
tivity of  this  western  soil  encourages  the  ever  in- 
creasing emigration  of  farmers  westward.  (See 
Table  i.)  From  this  table  it  may  be  seen  that  Mon- 
tana leads  in  yields  of  all  crops  except  flax  and  corn. 
It  has  not  been  supposed  that  our  short  summers 
and  cool  nights  would  ever  be  conducive  to  a  corn 
crop.  But  even  in  this  respect  experience  indicates 
that  at  least  in  eastern  Montana,  the  corn  crop 
may  be  one  of  great  value. 

According  to  the  crop  reports,  only  a  little  more 
than  four  millions  of  Montana's  thirty  millions  of 
acres  of  arable  lands  are  in  cultivation.  Al- 

20 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

though  the  state  is  growing  in  population  with 
marked  increase  in  agricultural  districts,  vast  areas 
of  fertile  land  still  await  settlement.  Its  un- 
equalled advantages  are  becoming  known  and  set- 
tlers are  coming  in  ever  increasing  numbers  to 
possess  the  land.  The  energetic  man,  with  small 
or  large  capital  can  find  the  opportunity  few  other 
places  offer.  In  an  address  at  the  State  Fair, 
in  the  presence  of  President  Taft,  James  J.  Hill 
made  the  statement  that  Montana  had  become  an 
integral  part  of  the  world's  granary.  As  for  qual- 
ity of  farm  products  he  challenged  the  world,  and 
Professor  Shaw,  the  agricultural  expert  of  Min- 
nesota, endorsed  this  statement  unqualifiedly.  The 
reader  no  doubt  will  want  to  know  the  facts  on 
which  such  statements  are  made.  For  example, 
the  wheat  average  is  shown  to  be  twice  that  of  the 
entire  nation  as  a  whole,  and  far  greater  than  that 
of  Russia  or  France.  With  the  exception  of  Bel- 
gium alone,  it  has  the  world's  record  average  of 
oats,  and  the  same  is  true  of  barley.  Table  No.  2 
in  the  Appendix,  taken  from  official  reports,  shows 
the  products  of  Montana  as  classified  for  1909. 
The  figures  quoted  in  the  above  mentioned  table 
are  not  rash  estimates  or  rough  guesses.  If  these 
are  the  products  when  in  the  infantile  stage  of  de- 
velopment, estimates  of  the  future  possibilities  are 
not  likely  to  be  exaggerated.  The  state  possesses 
an  area  of  93,000,000  acres,  subdivided  as  follows : 

21 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Wooded,  27,00x5,000  acres;  forest,  reserve  20,389,- 
ooo;  unsurveyed  or  unavailable,  22,000,000;  arable, 
30,000,000.  Of  the  latter,  in  1909  less  than  one- 
fourth  were  occupied,  while  forest  reserves  are  also 
available  for  homesteads. 

What  is  the  nature  of  this  new  country? 
Roughly  speaking,  the  eastern  two-thirds  of  the 
state  is  made  up  of  valleys  of  the  Missouri  and 
Yellowstone  Rivers,  running  eastward  and  uniting 
just  over  the  line  between  North  Dakota  and  Mon- 
tana. These  two  rivers  drain  a  vast  region,  larger 
than  any  northern  central  state,  consisting  chiefly 
of  grassy  plains,  cut  up  along  the  southwestern  bor- 
der by  spurs  from  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  which  form  its  western  border.  This 
region  classed  as  semi-arid,  has  a  rainfall  of  from 
ten  to  twenty  inches  annually.  These  plains  in  his- 
toric times  have  been  occupied  in  turn  by  the  buf- 
falo, the  long  horned  cattle  and  the  sheep  which 
have  made  Montana  the  first  of  all  the  wool  grow- 
ing states.  The  mountain  valleys,  with  surpris- 
ingly rich  soil,  furnish  also  the  most  favourable 
opportunities  for  irrigation  projects. 

The  western  third  of  the  state,  is  a  strip  lying 
from  the  northwest  to  southwest,  between  two 
ranges  of  the  mountains  and  is  made  up  of  a  series 
of  river  valleys  running  in  various  directions.  It 
is  characterised  by  a  somewhat  milder  climate  than 
corresponding  latitudes  east  of  the  mountains  and 

22 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

toward  the  north  has  a  much  heavier  rainfall.  The 
mountains  are  mostly  wooded,  held  largely  by  the 
government  as  forest  reserves.  This  section  of  the 
state,  except  at  the  southern  end,  is  drained  toward 
the  Pacific  coast. 

It  is  a  common  impression  that  Montana  is  a 
waterless  region,  but  in  fact  it  is  really  the  best  wat- 
tered  state  in  the  Union,  possessing  as  it  does  two 
of  the  largest  rivers  in  the  West,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  many  streams  fed  by  perpetually  snow-capped 
mountains,  while  the  average  rainfall  is  small  on 
the  arable  lands,  the  facilities  for  irrigation  are 
numerous.  The  government  projects,  already  in 
active  operation  and  those  being  built  and  in  con- 
templation will  cost  $30,000,000,  and  will  irrigate 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres.  Three  large  tracts 
have  been  reclaimed  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Carey  Act  and  others  are  contemplated,  while  the 
number  of  private  irrigation  projects  is  unusually 
large.  As  an  example  of  what  these  mean,  it  may 
be  stated  that  lands  selling  for  ten  dollars  before 
reclaimed  are  now  quoted  as  high  as  one  hundred 
in  some  parts  of  the  state,  and  nearly  all  irrigated 
land  sells  as  high  as  fifty  dollars  per  acre.  In  some 
more  favoured  sections  orcharding  has  become,  and 
is  becoming  more  and  more,  one  of  the  most  lucra- 
tive sources  of  business  among  the  productive  in- 
dustries. In  the  long  settled  communities  where 
every  possible  source  of  growth  and  development 

23 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

has  been  promoted,  the  birth  of  a  new  country  such 
as  the  mountain  and  other  western  states  have  al- 
ready proved  to  be,  induce  thousands  to  come  west- 
ward, through  the  lure  and  rewards  and  possibilities 
held  out  to  the  seekers  of  new  homes.  The  beckon- 
ing hand  is  pointing  such  to  the  land  of  the  setting 
sun.  Out  here  where  wide  stretched  plain  and  snow 
topped  mountains  meet,  where  every  hope  intelli- 
gently and  courageously  cherished  finds  fruition, 
where  the  magic  touch  of  honest  effort  finds  re- 
ward, where  empires  are  being  built  on  desert 
claims,  sentiment  draws  inspiration  for  future  home 
building.  Montana,  Idaho,  Colorado,  Oregon  and 
Washington  are  the  youthful  states,  which  in  the 
not  far  distant  future  will  be  the  controlling  factors 
in  the  body  politic  of  the  greatest  nation  on  the 
earth. 

The  West  is  thus  the  big  gate  of  opportunity  for 
the  overcrowded  East,  yes,  for  the  still  farther  East, 
where  homeseekers  are  looking  with  longing  eyes 
toward  this  land  of  promise.  Here  we  have  homes 
for  the  homeless,  food  for  the  hungry,  work  for 
the  unemployed,  land  for  the  landless,  freedom  for 
the  enslaved,  and  adventures  for  the  restless. 
These  have  been  the  lure  and  the  rewards  which  the 
West  has  held  out  to  the  sons  of  men.  We  do  not 
call  the  West  the  only  field  of  progress  and  future 
development,  but  it  is  preeminently  more  so  than 

24 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

old  settled  communities.  Its  population  represents 
progressive  blood  from  all  sections  of  the  East  as 
well  as  from  foreign  countries.  Its  natural  re- 
sources have  fanned  industrial  achievement  without 
parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  human  race.  A  senator 
in  1843  denounced  Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho  and 
Montana,  as  not  worth  a  pinch  of  snuff.  Their  tax- 
able valuation  now  runs  into  the  billions.  The  area 
west  of  the  Mississippi  embodies  60  per  cent  of  the 
United  States  and  has  35,000,000  inhabitants. 
The  manufacturing  interests  of  this  section  amount 
to  more  than  those  in  the  United  States  before 
1870.  It  will  not  be  many  years  before  half  the 
population  of  the  United  States  will  be  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  Montana  is  the  third  largest  state  in 
area  in  the  Union,  embracing  146,752  square  miles. 
Bigness  does  not  insure  greatness,  but  it  is  indicative 
of  possibilities.  It  takes  the  combined  states  of 
Pennsylvania,  Indiana  and  Maryland  to  equal  the 
area  of  Montana.  The  territorial  greatness  is 
matched  by  big1  business  enterprises.  In  Nevada 
one  mine  produced  $36,000,000  in  one  year. 
There  are  coal  veins  20  feet  thick.  There  is  as 
much  coal  in  Utah  as  in  Pennsylvania.  But  the 
deposits  in  the  treasure  vaults  of  mountains, 
is  not  the  greatest  source  of  western  wealth. 
The  agricultural  resources  far  surpass  the  mineral. 
(See  Table  3  Appendix.)  If  the  spirit  of  the  West 

25 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

is  boastful  and  speculative,  it  is  equally  vigorous, 
optimistic  and  progressive.  Its  people  and  re- 
sources make  it  such. 

During  a  recent  visit  in  the  East,  called  by  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  to  address  churches  and 
Presbyteries  in  the  interest  of  mission  work  in  the 
West,  I  was  frequently  questioned  concerning  the 
rainfall  and  character  of  the  climate  in  general. 
Some  of  these  questions  need  to  be  answered  be- 
cause they  indicated  erroneous  conclusions  which 
had  been  drawn  from  newspaper  reports  published 
during  periods  of  extreme  weather,  which  are  gen- 
erally of  short  duration.  (See  Table  No.  4  Ap- 
pendix.) 

In  western  Montana  the  winters  are  even  milder 
than  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state.  The  average 
temperature  for  February  as  given  in  the  Weather 
Bureau  at  Missoula,  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  for  the  past  nineteen  years  has 
been  24.4  degrees  above  zero.  When  the  tempera- 
ture falls  much  below  zero,  as  it  often  does,  it  only 
lasts  two  or  three  days.  The  heat  of  summer  is 
never  oppressive,  owing  largely  to  the  high  altitude. 
The  summers  are  noted  in  the  Rocky  Mountain 
states  for  their  long  sunshiny  days  and  dry  atmos- 
phere, giving  many  hours  of  sunlight  for  the 
growing  of  crops. 

Here  is  at  least  a  partial  solution  of  the  remark- 
able fruit  and  grain  crops.  Speaking  of  the  high 

26 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

percentage  of  bright  sunshine,  Prof.  Atkinson  of 
the  Montana  State  Agricultural  College,  says, 
"  The  light  which  is  usually  regarded  as  unimpor- 
tant, is  a  tremendous  factor  in  the  producing  of 
crops.  All  plant  production  is  based  on  the  pres- 
ence of  sunlight,  and  all  plant  manufacture  is  car- 
ried on  by  sunlight.  An  area,  therefore,  having 
a  larger  number  of  bright  days  is  more  fitted  to 
bring  rapid  and  satisfactory  plant  growth/*  This 
is  one  of  the  reasons  why  crop  returns  in  Montana 
are  greater  than  in  the  areas  of  more  rainfall. 
Quoting  from  the  same  authority :  "  The  soils,  not 
having  been  subjected  to  the  leaching  of  heavy  rains 
through  the  years  2Jld  not  having  been  reduced  by 
having  forests  removed,  are  accordingly  rich  in 
plant  food.  Nitrogen,  phosphorous  and  potash, 
those  elements,  the  lack  of  which  prevent  crop  re- 
turns in  other  sections,  are  present  in  abundance 
in  Montana  soils." 

In  many  sections  of  Montana  the  continual  crop- 
ping of  wheat  has  apparently  had  no  effect  whatever 
on  the  yield.  It  seems  probable  that  owing  to  all 
the  elements  of  plant  life  retained  in  the  soil,  with- 
out loss  from  leaching,  products  of  nitrification 
received  from  the  air  during  fallow  years,  are  quite 
sufficient  to  overcome  any  tendency  towards  ex- 
haustion of  the  soil.  These  western  soils  seem  to 
be  peculiar  in  this  regard.  In  Utah,  Oregon  and 
Washington  are  many  fields  that  have  produced 

27 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

grain  for  more  than  a  score  of  years,  and  the  yield 
is  as  large  as  ever. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  the  ex- 
pression "dry  farming"  signifies  farming  without 
rainfall.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  dry  farming, 
literally  speaking.  The  expression  only  means 
areas  where  the  rainfall  is  light  in  comparison  with 
more  humid  districts.  We  have  rainfall  in  all  parts 
of  Montana  and  more  in  some  parts  than  in  others; 
much  more  along  the  foothills  of  mountain 
ranges  where  farming  is  conducted  with  marked 
success  without  irrigation.  The  annual  normal 
precipitation  for  the  state  of  Montana  is  15.34 
inches.  The  largest  average  for  the  eastern  por- 
tion is  18.75  inches,  and  the  smallest  is  12.63  inches. 
For  the  western  division  of  the  state  the  largest 
annual  average  is  22.63  inches  and  the  least  is  12.56 
inches.  The  average  precipitation  for  the  state  in 
1908  was  20.09  inches.  The  normal  annual  pre- 
cipitation for  Utah  is  12.29  inches,  and  for  North 
Dakota  17.79  inches.  The  latter  includes  the  Red 
River  Valley. 

Another  important  characteristic  should  be  noted 
in  connection  with  the  above  facts,  viz,  that  in 
Montana  two-thirds  of  the  moisture  falls  during 
the  growing  season  of  the  year.  This  will  make  an 
average  of  about  ten  inches  for  April,  May,  June 
anl  July;  almost  as  much  as  falls  during  the  same 
months  in  the  humid  sections  of  the  country.  Ac- 

38 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

cording  to  Bulletin  "P"  of  the  United  States 
Weather  Bureau,  the  probabilities  of  rainfall  are 
ten  per  cent,  better  in  Montana  than  in  states  to 
south,  while  the  rains  are  more  frequent  and  reg- 
ular. 

The  statement  has  been  printed  by  the  same  au- 
thority that  the  rainfall  of  the  country  between  the 
looth  meridian  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  for  the 
past  three  years  has  been  unusually  large.  Dr. 
L.  G.  Briggs,  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  in  a  paper  read  before  the  third  Dry 
Farming  Congress,  showed  by  government  statistics 
that  the  rainfall  for  the  last  three  years  in  the 
region  named  has  been  almost  normal. 

It  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  common  observation 
that  rainfall  in  a  new  country  increases  with  set- 
tlement, cultivation  and  tree  planting.  For  in- 
stance, northwestern  Iowa  and  southwestern 
Minnesota  before  settlement,  were  considered  dry 
and  fit  only  for  grazing.  To-day  it  is  found  nec- 
essary to  dig  draining  ditches  in  these  sections. 
South  Dakota  and  Nebraska  prove  the  same  theory. 
Admitting  this  to  be  a  theory  not  fully  demon- 
strated, nature  has  provided  irrigation  possibilities 
yet  unrealized,  but  already  initiated  in  no  small 
scale.  The  unsurveyed  and  unexplored  mountains 
have  still  revelations  for  the  prospector,  of  mineral 
riches  which  may  surpass  those  now  discovered. 
But  in  the  cultivation  of  irrigated  lands  there  is 

29 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

no  uncertainty.  There  is  no  risk  as  with  the  pros- 
pector, and  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  rewards  of  land 
cultivation.  "  Countless  streams  rushing  down- 
wards from  snowy  summits,  unchecked  and  uncon- 
trolled, lure  the  engineer  to  harness  the  power  now 
wasted.  The  desert  —  mysterious,  silent,  expectant, 
quivering  under  cloudless  skies  —  holds  a  promise 
of  freedom  and  independence  to  the  careworn  and 
disregarded.  It  offers  uplift  of  unmeasured  dis- 
tances and  the  individual  home  with  that  broader 
freedom  of  action  which  comes  from  life  in  the 
open."  ("  The  Call  of  the  West,"  C  J.  Blanchard, 
in  National  Geographic  Magazine  for  May  1909.) 

The  same  writer  gives  this  summary  of  reclama- 
tion work  up  to  January  I,  1909.  Already  con- 
structed more  than  3,458  miles  of  canals  and  ditches, 
which  if  in  line  would  reach  from  New  York  City 
to  San  Francisco,  One  million  acres  now  ready 
for  irrigation,  embracing  4,686  farms.  Twenty 
thousand  people  are  settled  on  these  lands,  now  gar- 
dens of  productivity. 

Take  one  instance  for  example.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  of  the  government  irrigation  enterprises 
is  the  Huntley  project,  in  southeastern  Montana. 
It  represents  no  spectacular  engineering  features, 
yet  from  a  sociological  viewpoint  it  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  works  so  far  undertaken.  The 
project  embraces  about  thirty-five  thousand  acres 
of  land,  which  was  divided  by  the  engineers  into 

30 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

farms  of  approximately  forty  acres  each.  This 
was  a  daring  thing  to  do  in  a  country  where  men 
believed  themselves  entitled  to  as  many  hundred  or 
thousand  acres  as  they  could  fence.  The  engineers 
argued  that  a  region  so  favourably  situated  in  re- 
gard to  soil,  climate  and  crops,  forty  acres  were 
enough,  and  the  crop  report  of  1911  recently 
published  indicates  that  their  contention  was  well 
founded.  In  1911  twelve  thousand  acres  were  actu- 
ally irrigated,  but  crop  returns  have  been  received 
from  only  eleven  thousand  acres.  The  estimated 
value  of  crops  on  the  area  reported  was  $316,759. 
Much  of  this  area  was  new  land  cropped  for  the 
first  time,  and  considering  the  fact  that  the  spring 
of  1911  was  unusually  dry  and  unfavourable  for 
the  germination  of  seed,  this  is  a  pretty  good  show- 
ing for  amateur  irrigators.  With  only  one-third 
of  the  acreage  of  the  project  in  crop,  the  value  of 
the  yield  was  approximately  thirty-seven  per  cent  of 
the  cost  of  building  the  irrigation  system.  The  set- 
tlers have  also  acquired  livestock  of  an  estimated 
value  of  $224,369  and  in  addition  sold  stock  during 
the  year,  including  poultry  and  dairy  products, 
amounting  to  $32,509.75.  Including  these  sales, 
returns  during  1911  amounted  to  an  average  of 
more  than  $31  per  acre  of  the  lands  irrigated.  The 
cost  of  building  this  system  amounted  to  only  $30 
per  acre.  Of  the  lands  irrigated  in  191 1  three  thou- 
sand acres  were  reported  as  devoted  to  sugar  beets. 

31 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

The  gross  value  of  this  crop  averaged  $60  per  acre. 
The  average  distance  of  all  farms  on  the  Huntley 
project  is  only  one  and  five-eights  miles  from  the 
railroad.  Five  thousand  acres  on  the  project 
signed  contracts  with  the  sugar  beet  company  to 
raise  beets  in  1912.  There  are  seven  government 
townsites  on  the  project,  located  along  the  two  rail- 
roads which  traverse  the  tract  its  entire  length. 
The  usual  hardships  of  pioneer  life  are  not  encoun- 
tered on  this  project.  The  settlers  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  rural  free  delivery  and  county  tele- 
phones. Fourteen  schools  have  been  established 
and  seven  churches  organized  hold  regular  meetings. 
There  is  a  strong  movement  on  foot  to  establish 
high  schools  in  the  various  towns  to  which  the 
children  of  the  farmers  will  be  conveyed  in  busses 
daily. 

Who  can  tell  the  future  possibilities  and  predict 
the  development  in  agricultural  projects  of  the  com- 
ing years?  There  are  moral  consequences  as  well 
as  material.  This  kind  of  material  development 
means  the  growth  of  sturdy  manhood  and  industri- 
ous citizenship.  Mr.  Blanchard,  in  the  same  report 
heretofore  quoted,  says,  "  May  not  the  influence  of 
its  far-flung  horizons  and  its  true  perspective  be 
potential  in  character  moulding  and  building  ?  The 
cradle  of  our  civilisation  was  rocked  in  the  desert. 
Plato  and  Socrates  dreamed  their  dreams,  imbibed 
their  splendid  imagery  and  stately  rhetoric  in  rain- 

32 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

less  land.  May  not  our  own  desert  develop  new 
systems  of  ethics  and  morals  to  lead  us  back  from 
the  material  to  the  spiritual,  into  ways  of  gentle- 
ness and  simple  living." 

Material  influences  have  a  part,  among  the  silent 
forces  that  work  harmoniously  in  the  spiritual  con- 
quest along  the  Rockies.  If  environment  is  a 
factor  in  shaping  destinies  of  individuals  and  na- 
tions, surely  natural  scenery  has  its  ministry.  Any 
classification  of  moral  forces  with  this  left  out, 
would  be  ignoring  a  potential  agency.  "  A  country 
destitute  of  mountains  may  be  rich,  well  cultivated 
and  even  beautiful,  but  it  cannot  in  any  instance  be 
sublime  or  transporting."  (C.  Bucke,  "Beauties 
of  Nature/')  From  mountain  elevations  we  see 
the  far  horizon  of  the  ever- widening  Christian  civili- 
sation, as  we  view  the  physical  plains  stretching  to 
infinite  distances.  Go  where  we  will  in  this  moun- 
tain country,  we  never  get  away  from  this  object 
lesson  of  God's  strength  and  greatness. 

From  my  study  window  I  have  a  distant  view 
of  the  "  Gate  of  the  Mountains,"  through  which  the 
Missouri  River  pours  its  perennial  stream  of  pure 
mountain  water,  in  its  mad  rush  to  reach  the  sea. 
Here  it  passes  through  a  spur  of  the  Rockies,  that 
reaches  out  an  arm  as  if  to  stop  its  flow  in  its  des- 
tined course.  The  mountains  on  either  side  crowd 
its  waters  into  a  narrow  channel,  which,  in  the 
hidden  history  of  past  ages  opened  a  gate  for  pas- 

33 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

sage  through  what  would  seem  to  human  judgment 
an  impassable  barrier.  The  scene  reminds  us  of 
what  changes  have  taken  place  and  what  barriers 
have  been  broken  down,  through  the  silent  force 
of  the  ages. 

Living  in  the  midst  of  such  scenery,  we  never 
get  far  from  God's  glory,  reflected  in  the  massive- 
ness  of  His  handiwork.  The  sublime  psalmody  of 
hidden  strength,  the  deep  tone  of  the  mountain 
thunder  storm,  the  moaning  of  the  winds  in  the 
pine  tree  tops,  the  cloud  shadows  chasing  each 
other  over  rugged  paths,  the  white  purity  of  snow- 
covered  peaks,  are  revelations  and  visions  that 
should  bring  any  mind  into  the  tabernacle  for  rev- 
erential and  fervent  worship. 

We  may  rightly  assume  that  Deity  had  good 
reasons  for  the  choice  of  mountain  summits,  as  land- 
marks on  which  to  make  known  His  sublimest  rev- 
elations. It  may  be  because  these  are  striking 
topographical  localities  which  designate  them  from 
common  features  of  the  earth,  and  as  such  would 
not  likely  fade  from  the  memory  of  man. 

Another  reason  may  be  found  in  their  isolation 
and  far  removal  from  human  interruption  and  the 
noise  of  a  busy  world.  But  whatever  the  reason, 
we  know  that  many  mountains  have  been  world- 
wide renowned,  because  of  their  sacred  associations, 
and  places  of  divine  revelation. 

This  West  suffers  not  in  comparison  with  any 
34 


SECOND  CALL  OF  THE  WEST 

part  of  the  world,  in  all  that  nature  has  ever  done 
to  enthrall  the  senses,  to  inspire  the  tongue,  and  fill 
the  soul  with  high  ideals.  Are  we  mistaken  then 
in  assuming  that  these  silent  forces  and  sublime  en- 
vironments, have  an  important  mission  in  develop- 
ing a  high  standard  of  Christian  civilization? 
Surely  they  have  a  quickening  power  in  the  growth 
of  physical  and  spiritual  activity.  Extended  hori- 
zon enlarges  vision.  If  our  prophetic  dreams  of 
future  possibilities  seem  to  lack  the  elements  that 
make  fulfilment  probable,  we  answer  that  many  of 
them  have  already  emerged  into  realization. 

These  sovereign  states  of  the  West  have  been 
moulded  from  regions  long  abandoned  to  wilder^ 
ness  and  desert.  From  the  product  of  their  mines 
and  valleys,  they  are  building  enduring  monuments 
of  their  genius  and  foresight.  The  unrealized  re- 
sponsibility of  the  church,  is  to  redeem  these  forces 
of  undreamed  possibilities  of  righteousness  and  the 
extension  of  the  kingdom  of  God  throughout  the 
world. 


35 


CHAPTER  III 
OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

"1  AROM  the  statements  in  the  former  chapters, 
|H  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  regard  to  the  ma- 
-*-  terial  conquest  of  the  West.  Where  there 
are  such  material  rewards  for  material  investments, 
investments  will  be  made.  There  is  no  want  of 
money  to  buy  securities  such  as  the  West  affords. 
The  lure  of  profits  is  well  nigh  almighty.  Those  who 
have  capital  are  telescopic  in  their  vision,  and  those 
who  have  muscle,  are  not  slow  to  recognize  where 
its  rewards  are  sure.  A  conservative  estimate  will 
give  the  United  States  a  population  in  1950,  of 
200,000,000.  The  eastern  cities  may  double  their 
population  but  the  eastern  country  population  will 
not  be  much  increased.  The  western  country  will 
be  the  home  for  coming  generations  of  the  tillers 
of  the  soil.  There  are  signs  already  for  a  new  era 
in  rural  life.  With  telephones,  automobiles,  and 
post-office  at  the  door,  the  farmer  comes  into  all 
the  advantages  of  city  life,  with  all  the  freshness 
of  country  life  added.  If  the  country  church  is 
dying  out  in  the  old  settled  communities,  it  is  being 
built  in  the  new,  as  the  only  centre  of  social  life  and 

36 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

religious  worship.  There  need  be  no  fear  but  the 
cities,  both  West  and  East,  will  have  ample  Gospel 
privileges.  How  about  the  village  and  the  country 
church  in  the  West?  This  is  the  problem  of  more 
importance  to  the  church  than  any  other  at  the 
present  time.  It  is  seldom  that  the  people  of  any 
age  can  grasp  the  significance  of  events  which  are 
most  powerful  in  projecting  their  influence  into 
future  generations.  Persons  not  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  this  western  country  have  difficulty 
in  appreciating  the  magnitude  of  the  awakening  in 
agricultural  interests,  or  comprehending  the  extent 
of  territory  involved.  Take  for  example  the  four 
states  of  the  Northwest,  Oregon,  Idaho,  Washing- 
ton, Montana  and  the  adjacent  territory  of  Alaska 
and  state  of  Wyoming,  are  equal  in  area  to  that  of 
all  the  states  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
together  with  the  great  states  of  Minnesota,  Iowa 
and  a  large  part  of  Missouri  included  in  the  cal- 
culation. The  most  rapid  increase  in  population 
the  coming  years  will  be  in  this  western  area. 

The  spiritual  vision  that  fails  to  appreciate  the 
magnitude  of  this  country  and  embrace  its  oppor- 
tunity, will  awake  too  late  to  find  that  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  century  has  passed.  Much  of  this  area 
will  always  be  waste  land,  but  there  is  so  much  of 
it  arable  that  its  magnitude  is  not  easy  to  realize 
by  figures.  Thousands  of  acres  which  only  a  few 
years  ago  were  considered  waste  lands,  are  to-day 

37 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

some  of  the  richest  farm  and  fruit  lands  on  the 
continent. 

It  takes  a  wide  perspective  to  get  a  comprehensive 
view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work  the  church  has 
before  it,  in  the  spiritual  conquest  of  these  rising 
empires.  We  are  not  engaged  in  a  hopeless  strug- 
gle, nor  are  we  fighting  a  losing  battle,  but  in  so 
great  an  undertaking,  the  task  is  no  less  than  the 
christianization  of  American  civilization. 

Emerson  said,  "  He  was  never  confused  if  he 
could  see  far  enough.  That  the  cure  for  scepticism 
was  to  set  the  year  against  the  day,  and  the  century 
against  the  year;  to  look  at  happenings  and  ex- 
perience, in  the  light  of  a  large  perspective." 

Aggressive  action,  a  forward  movement,  is  bet- 
ter than  the  most  vigorous  defensive.  One  thou- 
sand dollars  spent  in  the  beginning  of  a  new  town 
or  community  of  settlers,  in  behalf  of  moral  and 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  people,  is  worth  more  than 
ten  thousand  dollars  spent  for  the  same  purpose 
ten  years  later,  when  settled  indifference  has  be- 
come a  fixed  condition.  The  real  science  of  medi- 
cine to-day  is  prevention,  rather  than  the  cure  of 
diseases.  The  cure  is  given  over  to  the  practi- 
tioner, while  prevention  engages  the  thought  of 
medical  science.  To  save  a  people  from  being  lost, 
is  better  and  less  expensive  than  saving  them  after 
they  are  lost.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  new 
settlers  in  the  West  to-day  come  from  Christian 

38 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

homes  in  the  East,  but  sad  to  say,  many  of  them  do 
not  act  like  Christians  in  their  new  home.  Accord- 
ing to  my  early  teaching  in  theology  —  once  in 
grace,  always  in  grace  —  there  seems  to  be  a  wide 
margin  between  the  theory  and  the  practice  of  this 
theological  dogma.  Since  my  coming  to  the  West 
I  have  become  a  little  heterodox  as  to  this  Calvin- 
istic  dictum,  for  I  find  that  the  religion  of  many 
does  not  stand  the  test  of  transportation  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  All  the  more  need,  however,  of 
meeting  these  seekers  of  new  homes  with  the  church 
and  Christian  influence,  before  they  slip  away  and 
neglect  so  great  salvation. 

One  of  our  chief  difficulties,  which  stands  in  the 
way  of  progress,  is  that  we  are  compelled  to  put 
untrained  men  into  important  fields  to  establish  the 
church  and  develop  our  work.  With  the  price  of 
our  living  higher  than  it  has  been  for  years,  making 
larger  financial  support  absolutely  necessary,  and  the 
class  of  people  ministered  to,  requiring  a  type  of 
preachers  possessing  the  best  qualities  for  work, 
make  our  conditions  extremely  difficult.  A  man 
who  has  been  a  failure  in  the  East,  should  never 
think  of  coming  West,  for  here  his  weakness  will 
put  him  out  of  a  job  much  sooner  than  in  old  set- 
tled communities. 

Therefore  to  meet  the  responsibility  and  embrace 
the  opportunity,  which  confronts  Christian  endeav- 
our on  home  missionary  territory  in  the  West,  a 

39 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

high  standard  of  preparation  for  the  work  is  de- 
manded. The  writer  receives  many  applications 
from  ministers  for  locations  where  they  can  supply 
churches  and  take  up  a  homestead.  Such  applica- 
tions are  universally  turned  down,  for  the  reason 
that  men  cannot  make  a  success  of  their  work  with 
divided  interests.  They  must  either  be  ministers 
or  farmers,  for  they  cannot  successfully  be  masters 
of  two  callings;  they  will  either  hate  the  one  and 
love  the  other  or  else  they  will  hold  to  the  one  and 
despise  the  other. 

The  Rev.  Douglas  McKenzie,  president  of  Hart- 
ford Theological  Seminary,  spoke  a  great  truth 
when  he  said,  in  an  address  before  the  World's 
Missionary  Conference,  held  in  Edinburgh,  "  That 
the  modern  world  everywhere  must  be  supplied 
with  teachers  of  truth  in  Christ,  whose  training 
has  been  prolonged,  thorough  and  deep.  Those 
who  speak  for  the  Christian  religion  to  the  mass 
of  human  life  must  in  general  be  masters  both  of 
what  they  teach  and  of  the  moral  and  intellectual 
conditions  of  those  whom  they  address.  It  has  be- 
come clear  that  no  portion  of  the  church  does,  per- 
haps none  can,  and  certainly  none  ought  to  give  a 
preparation  to  its  missionary  force  superior  to  that 
given  to  the  various  classes  of  workers  at  home. 
For  if  the  growing  intelligence  of  the  homeland 
is  to  be  held  loyal  to  the  Truth  of  the  Gospel,  it  is 
evident  that  this  only  can  be  secured  by  keeping 

40 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

the  interpreters  of  the  Truth  abreast  of  the  best 
education,  which  is  given  to  any  class  of  scholars 
and  any  profession  which  Christendom  produces." 
We  hope  and  pray  for  the  time  when  chosen  men 
will  hear  the  call  of  God  as  distinctly  to  go  to  the 
needy  fields  of  our  own  country,  as  some  do  hear 
it  for  the  foreign  field;  men  who  will  have  this 
work  as  their  choice  above  all  others  and  who  will 
feel  that  the  greatest  talents  are  not  too  brilliant 
for  home  missionary  work. 

Human  wisdom  cannot  possibly  foresee  the 
changes  which  may  take  place  in  this  far  West  in 
the  next  few  years.  Advance  is  so  rapid  in  ma- 
terial development,  that  it  is  difficult  to  predict 
what  a  few  years  may  bring  forth.  In  many  places 
all  that  we  can  do  is  to  occupy  the  fields  ready  for 
the  sowing  and  anticipate  through  faith  and  works 
the  coming  harvest.  There  is  a  call  which 
distinctly  says,  "  Go  Forward."  WTe  face  a  com- 
bination of  grand  opportunities  and  grave  respon- 
sibilities. In  most  undertakings  there  is  the  chance 
of  glorious  success  or  the  risk  of  awful  failure,  but 
as  to  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  with  all 
the  rich  promises  for  successful  conquest  His  word 
inspires,  there  should  not  be  even  the  shadow  of  the 
disappointment  failure  brings.  The  only  risk  in- 
volved is  found  in  the  lack  of  devotion,  in  seizing 
the  opportunity  and  accepting  the  responsibility. 
Apathy  is  the  greatest  peril  that  confronts  us. 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Heterodoxy  is  not  the  besetting  sin  of  the  church  in 
this  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century;  it  is 
rather  indifference  and  selfishness.  We  are  com- 
pelled to  work  against  odds  now,  because  satan 
has  occupied  the  fields  first.  In  every  new  town  in. 
the  Northwest,  the  saloon  is  about  the  first  building 
erected.  As  proof  of  this  I  can  relate  an  example 
of  personal  experience  and  observation  on  a  recent 
tour  along  the  Lower  Yellowstone,  where  the  gov- 
ernment has  completed  one  of  its  extensive  irriga- 
tion projects,  and  along  which  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  is  extending  its  line.  In  a  distance  of 
forty  miles,  three  new  towns  are  located,  and  in 
each  of  these,  the  first  building  erected  was  a  sa- 
loon, and  in  two  of  them  the  first  two  buildings 
were  saloons.  Satan  is  in  advance  of  the  church 
in  occupying  new  fields.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to 
dislodge  the  foe  when  our  delays  have  permitted 
him  to  fortify.  I  have  one  example,  however, 
where  the  church  got  the  start.  In  the  little  village 

of  M ,  a  new  settlement  on  the  Pacific  extension 

of  the  C.  M.  &  St.  Paul  R.  R.—  the  Sunday  School 
Missionary  and  the  Pastor-evangelist,  arrived  be- 
fore the  saloon.  Two  petitions  were  already  before 
the  County  Commissioners  for  saloon  license,  but 
when  a  petition  signed  by  ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
community  against  license  was  presented,  the  ma- 
jority petition  was  granted,  and  that  little  church 
organized  without  any  church  building,  in  a  little 

42 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

school  house  only  large  enough  to  hold  less  than 
half  the  people  that  would  assemble  every  Sabbath 
morning  for  worship,  has  held  the  ground  as  one 
dry  village  in  the  state  of  Montana,  and  as  far  as 
the  writer  knows,  the  only  one  outside  the  Indian 
reservations.  There  is  no  reasonable  excuse,  ex- 
cept the  apathy  of  the  church  in  general,  for  al- 
lowing the  emisaries  of  evil  to  first  take  possession 
of  newly  developed  localities.  Among  the  many 
hindrances  the  missionary  has  to  confront  in  the 
spiritual  conquest  of  the  Northwest,  all  combined 
are  not  so  great  as  the  saloon  influence.  In  this 
respect  the  Southwest  is  far  in  advance  of  the  North- 
west. Oklahoma  and  Kansas  are  dry  territory 
and  a  very  large  part  of  Texas  through  local 
option.  The  churches  make  corresponding  prog- 
ress. North  Dakota  is  the  only  state  along  the 
Northwest  where  the  prohibitive  ban  closes  the 
saloon.  All  the  other  states  suffer  under  this  curse. 
The  saddest  feature  of  all  is  that  they  are  appar- 
ently sustained  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people. 
In  Montana,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  the  sa- 
loon has  free  course  to  run,  practically  without  any 
restrictions  whatever,  twenty- four  hours  in  the 
day,  and  seven  days  in  the  week  and  three  hundred 
sixty-five  days  in  the  year. 

This  means  a  crusade  against  the  powers  of 
darkness,  the  most  formidable  of  any  the  church 
of  God  has  to  fight.  All  the  more  need  in  this 

43 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Northwest  for  the  church  to  put  forth  its  most  vali- 
ant efforts,  by  sending  its  best  men,  with  equip- 
ments furnished  for  contending  with  such  a  foe.  It 
only  emphasizes  the  grandeur  of  our  opportunity 
for  a  great  victory  and  the  peril  of  weakhearted  at- 
tacks. Were  it  not  for  the  inspiration  from  above 
that  prompts  all  true  service  and  sacrifice,  and  which 
assures  final  victory,  we  might  faint  ere  the  battle 
is  begun.  Under  the  Red  Cross  banner  of  our 
Lord,  we  march  forward  to  face  new  openings  and 
gain  new  victories.  In  the  face  of  such  opposing 
forces  the  call  for  "  Retrenchment "  sounds  like  a 
death  knell  to  missionary  advancement.  Happily 
the  boards  of  our  churches  have  almost  forgotten 
this  word,  and  from  headquarters  no  longer  do  they 
cry  out  to  stop  advance,  but  to  go  forward  and  take 
new  territory  for  the  Lord.  The  courage  of  the 
missionary  has  quickened  the  dying  courage  of  the 
church,  and  now  out  on  the  frontier  lines  engaged 
in  our  desperate,  but  not  hopeless  struggle,  we  are 
assured  that  the  Eastern  churches  with  more  liberal 
and  confident  beneficence  are  standing  back  of  us 
with  the  sinews  of  spiritual  warfare. 

While  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  after  an  ad- 
dress somwhat  optirriistic  in  tone,  a  lady  came  for- 
ward and  kindly  thanked  me  for  the  words  spoken, 
"  but "  she  said,  "  don't  you  have  to  whistle  oc- 
casionally in  order  to  keep  up  courage  ?  "  I  assured 
her  that  we  had  something  more  substantial  than  a 

44 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

whistle  to  keep  up  our  courage  or  we  would  have 
long  since  waved  the  white  flag. 

This  reminds  me  of  another  instance  in  this  con- 
nection. While  stopping  at  a  hotel  in  one  of  our 
principle  cities,  a  travelling  man  who  had  often 
seen  me  on  the  road  in  different  parts  of  the  state, 
presented  his  card,  saying,  "  I  believe  you  are  a 
travelling  man  like  myself."  On  confirming  his 
supposition,  he  asked  me  "  what  line  of  goods  do 
you  sell  ?  "  I  informed  him  that  I  was  a  minister, 
a  title  I  had  never  been  ashamed  of  except  in  my 
imperfections  and  weakness  in  representing  so 
worthy  a  calling.  His  surprise  at  my  answer 
was  manifest  in  his  countenance,  and  his  opinion 
of  my  profession  was  clearly  stated  in  his  re- 
ply when  he  said  in  a  very  condescending  tone, 
"  Well,  I  am  sorry  for  you."  With  all  the  dignity 
at  my  command,  I  told  him  he  had  better  reserve 
his  pity  for  some  one  who  needed  it,  and  that  he 
would  not  find  me  in  the  needy  class.  This  reply 
awakened  his  interest,  and  for  nearly  an  hour  I  con- 
versed with  him  on  the  recompense  of  the  minister's 
life.  He  bid  me  good  night,  saying,  "  I  am  almost 
persuaded  to  be  a  minister."  I  never  learned 
whether  he  became  altogether  persuaded,  but  I  am 
sure  he  will  never  give  me  any  more  pity  for  being  a 
minister. 

The  experience  of  a  travelling  missionary  in  this 
western  country,  if  written  by  a  ready  and  expert 

45 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

story  writer,  would  make  some  interesting  reading. 
It  is  not  my  custom  to  travel  in  ministerial  garb, 
but  my  profession  is  very  often  recognised  notwith- 
standing the  fact  clothes  do  not  indicate  my  calling. 
Sometimes,  however,  it  is  the  opposite  impression, 
for  after  a  long  journey  by  stage  or  otherwise,  over 
dusty  roads,  appearance  does  not  indicate  my  voca- 
tion. After  one  of  these  long  dusty  rides  I  was 
waiting  at  a  small  station,  walking  up  and  down  the 
platform,  perhaps  a  little  impatient  at  the  tardiness 
of  the  train,  when  a  man  stepped  up  to  me  and  said, 
"  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  believe  you  are  the  black- 
smith up  at  the  Keating  mines."  I  politely  in- 
formed him  that  I  was  not  ashamed  of  being  recog- 
nised as  one  of  such  a  muscular  and  worthy  calling, 
but  that  he  was  mistaken  —  in  giving  me  such  an 
honourable  distinction.  He  graciously  apologized 
and  went  his  way,  without  any  further  information 
as  to  my  trade. 

Another  recent  incident  is  of  a  different  nature, 
when,  in  spite  of  my  citizen's  dress,  I  was  recognized 
as  a  member  of  the  priesthood.  On  entering  a  new 
town  with  valise  in  hand,  I  was  most  cordially 
greeted  by  a  young  man  evidently  not  long  from 
the  land  where  the  shamrock  grows.  He  was  so 
cordial  in  his  greeting  (and  full  of  artificial  inspira- 
tion) that  he  took  my  valise  in  one  hand  and  put 
his  other  arm  in  mine,  saying,  "  Well,  father,  I  am 
glad  to  see  you  in  our  town ;  if  you  give  us  a  service 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

you  can  depend  on  me."  Walking  a  little  farther, 
he  stopped  me  in  front  of  a  saloon,  saying,  "  Come 
in,  father,  and  let  us  have  a  social  drink  in  honour  of 
the  occasion,  for  you  are  the  first  man  of  your  holy 
order  that  has  ever  been  in  our  town."  Of  course 
I  refused  this  kind  offer,  but  he  was  not  satisfied 
with  my  denial.  Persisting  in  his  purpose  to  show 
his  hospitality,  he  said,  "  Well,  father,  come  in  and 
have  a  cigar."  This  like  the  first  offer  was  kindly 
refused.  But  as  a  final  effort  to  show  his  good 
will,  he  said,  "  Father,  if  you  will  not  drink  or 
smoke,  you  surely  can  come  in  and  have  some  chew- 
ing gum." 

When  the  religious  service  was  held  that  same 
evening,  my  young  friend  was  not  present.  I  had 
the  encouragement  nevertheless  of  about  forty  men 
and  three  women  at  that  religious  service,  the  first 
that  had  been  conducted  in  that  town.  In  these  new 
towns  as  a  rule,  the  men  are  in  the  majority,  not 
because  they  are  the  most  pious,  but  most  numerous. 

As  a  sequel  to  the  incident  of  my  first  acquaint- 
ance in  this  new  town  on  the  Yellowstone,  three 
months  later  I  made  another  visit  to  this  same  town 
which  in  the  meantime  had  doubled  its  population, 
and  organized  a  church  of  seventeen  members  and 
ordained  three  elders.  When  we  consider  that  home 
missionary  work  has  been  so  poorly  supported  in 
comparison  with  the  demand  and  opportunity,  the 
success  attained  indicates  the  seal  of  God's  approval. 

47 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

We  do  not  claim  continuous  success,  nor  can  we  pre- 
sent a  record  that  in  any  way  can  be  called  marvel- 
lous or  extraordinary,  but  the  instances  of  failure 
are  so  few,  that  unless  magnified  by  those  preju- 
diced, they  are  only  spots  on  the  sun  of  God's  con- 
tinual blessing  on  home  missionary  endeavour. 

When  we  measure  advance  by  the  year,  success 
may  seem  meagre,  but  measured  by  decades  growth 
is  marked  and  encouraging.  Revivalistic  and 
spasmodic  methods  have  been  in  most  cases  failures 
in  these  western  states.  The  people  do  not  take  to 
the  modern  evangelistic  revivalists.  The  leader  in 
Christian  work  must  be  long  enough  with  the  people 
to  gain  their  confidence,  respect  and  esteem,  by  his 
manly  bearing,  Christian  virtues  and  social  gifts, 
before  he  can  do  effectual  work  in  enlisting  their 
support.  It  is  the  steady  pull  that  counts  for  sub- 
stantial gain.  Flashlights  soon  go  out  and  leave 
the  darkness,  darker  than  ever.  Vaudeville 
methods  are  at  a  discount  and  engender  only  con- 
tempt and  ridicule. 

Statistics  cannot  give  a  comprehensive  view  of 
what  has  been  done,  but  they  do  indicate  beyond  a 
doubt  encouraging  progress.  The  past  represents 
largely  the  seed  sowing  period,  and  that  period  does 
not  show  in  figures  the  good  that  has  been  done,  be- 
cause the  harvest  is  to  be  gathered  in  future  years. 
So  far  it  is  distinctively  home  missionary  territory. 
In  one  denomination  with  62  churches  only  eighteen 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

are  self-supporting.  In  another  with  70  churches 
only  ten  are  self-supporting.  In  the  larger  cities 
beautiful  and  expensive  church  buildings  have  been 
erected.  For  example,  the  First  Presbyterian 
Churches  of  Helena  and  Bozeman  have  buildings 
costing  over  $50,000  each,  and  represent  the  most 
costly  Protestant  church  buildings  in  the  state. 
These  churches  were  organized  in  1872  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Sheldon  Jackson,  and  have  ever  since  stood  as 
strong  towers  of  righteousness,  and  continue  to  be 
among  the  strong  spiritual  forces  along  the  foothills 
of  the  Rockies. 

The  writer  attended  his  first  meeting  of  Presby- 
tery in  the  spring  of  1899  at  Miles  City.  The  Miles 
City  church  was  then  the  only  Presbyterian  church 
organization  east  of  Bozeman,  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  miles.  In  the  last  six 
years  sixteen  churches  have  been  organized  along 
the  Yellowstone  and  the  Presbytery  of  Yellow- 
stone has  been  organized,  where  ten  years  ago  there 
was  but  one  organization  of  this  denomination. 
These  examples  of  growth  are  not  cited  as  mar- 
vellous, nor  even  as  remarkable,  for  greater  rec- 
ords have  been  made  in  different  territories  in 
other  western  states,  but  they  do  show  that  in  a 
reasonable  measure  the  church  growth  is  in  fair 
proportion  to  the  ever  increasing  population  of 
this  the  third  largest  state  in  area  of  the  Union. 
This  is  only  a  limited  vision  and  prophecy  of  the 

49 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

coming  years ;  only  an  index  finger  pointing  to  still 
larger  reports  of  home  missionary  work  in  all  these 
western  states  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  which 
not  only  announce  the  occupancy  of  new  fields,  but 
show  inviting  fields  in  other  quarters,  making  new 
demands  and  extensive  urgent  calls  for  advance  all 
along  the  frontier  line. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Northwest  and  Mon- 
tana in  particular,  may  be  said  of  the  whole  Rocky 
Mountain  region,  reaching  through  the  states  of 
Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Utah  and  Wyo- 
ming. This  region  is  packed  with  undeveloped  re- 
sources that  are  so  far  scarcely  touched,  but  are  al- 
ready contributing  vast  sums  of  wealth  to  the  Na- 
tion. It  includes  all  the  precious  ores,  while  the 
deposits  of  coal,  marble  and  asbestos  will  stand  the 
world's  drain  for  centuries.  Its  agricultural  re- 
sources exceed  the  mining  output  in  several  states. 
The  government  is  expending  millions  to  develop 
irrigation  systems  and  multiply  the  acreage  thus 
made  available  for  homes  and  farms. 

The  writer  has  the  privilege  of  quoting  at  length 
from  an  address  given  by  Rev.  R.  M.  Donaldson, 
D.  D.,  Field  Secretary  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
states,  whose  vision  is  far-reaching  and  compre- 
hensive of  present  and  future  possibilities. 

"  Irrigation  is  more  than  an  adjunct  to  agricul- 
ture, or  a  graft  on  public  funds.  It  is  a  social  and 
industrial  factor.  Because  of  it,  civilization  rises 

50 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

out  of  desolate  wastes.  Where  civilization  dawns, 
the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  a  necessity. 
Irrigation  and  'dry  farming*  have  given  us  fully 
one- fourth  of  our  present  fields.  The  rural  church 
is  far  from  being  obsolete. 

"  This  is  a  region  whose  dimensions  are  deter- 
mined by  altitude  as  well  as  by  latitude  and  longi- 
tude. Mt.  Washington  is  the  top  of  the  world  to 
New  England  and  the  whole  Atlantic  Coast.  When 
they  want  something  better,  they  hie  away  to  the 
Alps.  One  railroad  in  Colorado  and  New  Mexico 
reaches  fifty-five  towns  that  are  higher  than  Mt. 
Washington,  in  twenty-five  of  which  we  have  or- 
ganized churches.  One  of  these  towns  (Leadville) 
is  but  a  few  feet  less  than  an  altitude  of  two  miles 
above  sea  level. 

"  In  the  state  of  Colorado  alone,  there  are  eighty 
mountain  peaks  which  reach  an  altitude  greater 
than  that  of  the  Matterhorn.  These  are  only  a  part 
of  the  great  mountain  system  upon  whose  plains  and 
foothills  and  ranges,  these  seven  states  are  built. 

"Of  the  three  hundred  and  seventy-six  churches 
of  one  single  denomination  in  these  states,  fully  one- 
third  are  located  above  an  altitude  of  five  thousand 
feet.  From  this  altitude,  one  should  be  able  to 
see  large  visions  of  opportunity  and  responsibility. 
In  proof  of  this,  the  horizon  of  our  churches  lies 
far  beyond  the  parish  bounds. 

"  Areas  and  physical  resources  are  not  the  most 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

prominent  features  of  this  mountain  land.  We  do 
not  see  all  that  ought  to  be  seen,  unless  we  see  God. 
We  do  not  move  as  we  ought  to  move,  unless  we 
march  with  Him.  With  marvellous  swiftness  He 
is  marshalling  the  material  and  spiritual  forces  for 
the  conquest  of  the  nation  and  of  the  world. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  realize  what  progress  has  been 
made,  unless  we  compare  the  present  with  the  past. 
Veterans  of  the  Civil  War  are  still  numbered  by  the 
hundred-thousands,  yet  there  is  not  a  single  Pres- 
byterian church  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  district  to- 
day that  was  organized  when  the  Civil  War  closed. 
The  report  of  the  Home  Board  in  1864,  names  only 
one  missionary  at  work  in  Colorado,  but  no  church 
was  organized  until  nearly  four  years  after  that 
date.  It  was  not  till  April  29,  1869,  that  Doctor 
Sheldon  Jackson,  T.  H.  Cleland  and  John  Elliott, 
held  that  historic  prayer-meeting  on  Prospect  Hill, 
above  Sioux  City.  The  spiritual  outlook  given  to 
them  was  one  of  the  contributing  causes  to  the  rapid 
multiplying  of  church  organizations  and  the  pro- 
moting of  religious  interests  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

"  The  increase  of  population  and  the  development 
of  our  material  resources  are  among  the  marvels  of 
our  generation.  There  is  abundant  evidence  that 
the  church  has  not  been  unmindful  of  its  oppor- 
tunity. Her  ministers  have  brought  the  touch  of 
Christian  fellowship  and  of  good  cheer  to  the  trap- 

52 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

per,  prospector,  miner,  stockman,  and  rancher 
throughout  the  region.  The  history  of  the  West 
can  never  be  written  without  paying  its  tribute  to 
the  hardy  pioneer. 

"  Those  who  live  in  older  communities,  inheriting 
homes,  churches,  schools,  public  buildings,  even  their 
roads  and  fences,  cannot  realize  at  what  expense 
we  must  build  everything  from  sage  brush  to  civili- 
zation within  a  single  decade.  More  than  a  score 
of  places  where  we  are  at  work,  have  reached  a 
population  of  from  two  thousand  to  ten  thousand, 
since  the  twentieth  century  dawned,  in  localities 
where  there  was  nothing  but  desert  or  wilderness, 
or  at  most,  a  hamlet.  It  is  no  small  task  to  build 
a  city  with  modern  equipment  to  meet  the  need  of 
body,  mind  and  soul;  yet  it  is  done  by  a  people 
whose  industry  and  courage,  include  spiritual  as 
well  as  material  enterprise.  Many  of  these 
churches  reach  rapidly  to  self  support,  and  become 
generous  contributors  to  the  general  work  of  the 
church.  Contrary  to  the  common  opinion,  few 
churches  attain  the  average  for  local  support  that 
is  attained  by  many  of  our  home  mission  churches. 
Two  of  these,  in  different  states,  with  a  member- 
ship of  less  than  twenty-five,  have  sustained  an 
average  per  year  of  forty  dollars  per  member  for 
pastor's  support.  While  many  communities  are  not 
so  generous,  yet  the  spirit  of  the  people  bears  this 
stamp.  The  problems  of  pauperism  are  practically 

53 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

unknown.  It  is  generally  true  that  the  man  who 
seeks  labour  can  find  it ;  that  the  man  who  is  indus- 
trious and  honest  has  little  fault  to  find  with  labour's 
rewards.  Many  counties  have  no  "  poor  farm," 
because  they  do  not  need  one.  A  business  man 
says,  that  there  are  so  few  dependents  in  his  county 
that  it  would  be  cheaper  for  the  county  to  pay 
their  board  at  a  first  class  hotel,  than  to  own  and 
support  an  institution  in  which  to  care  for  them. 

"  The  church  at  large  has  abundantly  demon- 
strated its  faith  in  the  mountain  states.  During  a 
half  century  of  small  beginnings,  she  has  invested 
vast  fortunes  of  the  Lord's  treasure,  prospecting, 
building,  teaching,  and  evangelizing.  Have  the 
time  and  money  been  well  invested? 

"  The  more  than  one  thousand  self-supporting 
churches  in  the  several  denominations,  ought  to  be 
sufficient  answer. 

"  Nor  does  our  mountain  vision  preclude  the  vis- 
ion of  the  world's  great  need.  Our  eyes  are  not 
closed  to  the  beckoning  hands  across  the  seas. 
Most  of  our  strong  churches  have  their  own  mission- 
ary or  parish  abroad.  Oriental  classes  in  many  of 
the  churches  give  evidence  that  women  are  willing 
to  render  at  home  the  same  service  they  ask  from 
others  abroad. 

"  Much  land  remains  to  be  possessed.  Without 
disregarding  the  principle  of  comity  or  federation-, 
we  are  in  no  danger  of  running  out  of  work.  Colo- 

54 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

rado  is  more  nearly  supplied  with  Gospel  privileges 
than  any  other  mountain  state,  yet  fifty  thousand 
of  her  population  are  without  stated  religious  serv- 
ices. Our  Utah  missionaries  have  given  their 
summer  vacations  for  the  last  five  years,  to  tent 
work  in  remote  fields.  During  the  summer  of 
1910,  their  two  tents  and  twelve  workers  gave 
eighty-one  days  of  service,  preaching  to  three  thou- 
sand Mormons,  most  of  whom  were  young  people. 
There  are  still  one  hundred  fifty  towns  in  the  state, 
with  an  estimated  population  of  twenty  thousand, 
who  have  never  heard  a  Christian  minister.  With 
this  class  of  people  the  tent  work  is  the  most  effici- 
ent. Only  a  few  days  ago,  a  minister  in  Idaho  told 
of  an  American  girl,  thirteen  years  of  age,  who  was 
never  in  a  Sunday  school,  and  never  heard  a  sermon 
until  she  spent  a  week  in  his  home  recently.  This 
is  true  of  many  well-born,  well-behaved,  intelligent 
young  men  and  women  whose  homes  are  in  the 
remote  places  that  have  not  yet  been  reached.  We 
cannot  fulfill  the  Lord's  great  commission  until  we 
reach  our  own  unchurched  communities." 

So  the  vision  crowds  upon  us,  visions  of  oppor- 
tunity, or  obligation,  of  the  age-old  plans  of  God 
and  the  plans  of  far-seeing  men  who  are  fellow- 
labourers  with  Him.  It  is  a  vision  that  stirs  the 
blood,  that  gives  wings  to  hope,  that  inspires  to 
Christly  service  in  the  spirit  of  Him  who  "  came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister." 

55 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Dr.  Arthur  T.  Pierson  in  his  "  Crisis  of  Mis- 
sions," says  with  marked  appropriateness  to  pres- 
ent conditions  in  the  West,  "  Every  conceivable 
motive,  therefore,  urges  us  to  undertake  a  crusade 
against  the  powers  of  darkness.  The  command  of 
our  ascended  Lord,  the  voice  of  an  enlightened  con- 
science, the  impulse  of  the  new  nature,  the  leading 
of  the  providential  pillar,  the  work  of  transforming 
grace,  the  grandeur  of  our  opportunity,  and  the 
peril  of  delay  —  all  these  converge  like  rays  in  the 
burning  focus,  urging  us  onward  and  forward  to 
the  outposts  of  civilization  and  the  limits  of  human 
habitation  with  the  word  of  life.  Let  the  trumpet 
signal  be  heard  all  along  the  lines ;  God  has  already 
sounded  His  signal,  and  like  that  appeal  at  Sinai, 
it  is  long  and  loud.  The  last  precept  and  promise 
of  our  Lord,  which  have  inspired  all  true  service 
and  sacrifice,  echo  with  new  force  and  emphasis, 
louder  and  clearer,  in  the  face  of  new  openings  and 
new  victories.  "  Blessed  is  he  who,  like  Paul,  is  im- 
mediately obedient  to  the  heavenly  vision." 

One  phase  of  home  missionary  work  differenti- 
ates it  from  that  of  the  foreign  field  and  emphasizes 
the  demand  for  men  most  thoroughly  prepared, 
who  confront  the  opportunity  and  accept  the  re- 
sponsibility of  a  home  missionary,  viz. —  his  task 
is  not  the  evangelization  of  heathen,  but  the  Christ- 
ianization  of  American  civilization.  This  in  many 
respects  is  a  more  stupendous  undertaking  than  the 

56 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

evangelization  of  heathendom.  There  is  a  self- 
righteousness  which  characterizes  our  civilization, 
a  sort  of  self-satisfaction  which  covers  the  sores  of 
sin  with  the  flower's  fragrance  of  self-esteem, 
soothing  the  human  mind  into  an  unconscious  state 
of  guilt  before  God.  Civilized  society  has  ad- 
vantages over  pagan,  but  it  is  harder  to  make  the 
former  realize  its  condition  and  its  need  of  Cal- 
vary's redemption,  than  the  latter.  Heathendom 
is  so  destitute  that,  when  the  True  Light  is  brought 
into  view,  its  darkness  is  the  more  manifest.  Civ- 
ilized society  has  so  much  that  is  truth,  moral,  and 
beautiful,  that  the  one  thing  lacking  is  difficult  to 
realize.  It  is  hard  to  convince  a  civilized  people 
that  they  are  sick;  that  a  scholarly  and  educated 
Nicodemus,  must  seek  salvation  and  be  born  from 
above,  as  well  as  the  pagan  in  ignorance  and  dark- 
ness. The  distinction  made  by  society  which  is 
only  civilized,  between  the  "Light  of  Asia"  and 
the  "Light  of  the  World,"  is  not  clearly  defined, 
and  much  less  understood. 

Thinking  of  God  as  too  just  to  condemn  the 
heathen,  surely  He  is  not  so  unjust  as  to  condemn 
the  enlightened.  That  the  condemnation  is  still 
greater  for  those  who  know  the  truth  and  do  it  not, 
than  for  those  who  know  it  not  and  therefore  can- 
not do  it,  is  a  part  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  this 
state  of  mind  has  not  studied  to  a  final  conclusion. 

Let  it  be  understood  then  that  we  are  undertak- 
57 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ing  no  little  task  in  the  Christianization  of  a  civi- 
lized people.  Therefore  we  are  not  asking  mis- 
sionary aid  for  this  country,  to  simply  assist  in 
maintaining  struggling  churches,  but  to  aid  in  es- 
tablishing the  Kingdom  of  God  in  a  section  of  the 
United  States  which  is  being  rapidly  settled  by 
America's  best  sons  and  daughters,  and  destined  in 
the  near  future,  both  religiously  and  politically,  to 
be  among  the  influential  factors  of  the  continent. 
Two  score  years  ago  the  record  of  this  country 
along  the  Rockies  was  that  of  several  big  mining 
camps  and  a  few  cattle  and  sheep  ranches ;  two  gen- 
erations ago  a  few  fur  traders  and  here. and  there 
a  lumber  camp  and  a  few  settlers  who  spent  most 
of  their  time  in  hunting,  fishing,  trapping  and 
drinking  whiskey.  The  class  of  people  who  were 
in  this  region  then  had  no  interest  in  religion. 
They  were  here  as  transients  with  no  purpose  of 
making  it  their  home.  The  early  missionaries  who 
had  to  deal  with  this  class,  laboured  under  difficulties 
of  which  strangers  to  the  conditions  existing  in  that 
day  can  form  no  just  conception.  The  work  ac- 
complished by  these  early  pioneers  was  most  re- 
markable in  results  when  all  things  are  taken  into 
account.  But  the  class  of  settlers  coming  West  to- 
day are  coming  to  stay  and  make  for  themselves 
and  their  children  permanent  homes.  They  want 
and  seek  religious  privileges  and  are  the  making  of 

58 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

that  class  of  citizens  who  represent  the  influential 
factors  in  every  community.  But  without  the  edu- 
cational, social  and  religious  influence  of  the  church, 
any  community  is  in  a  state  of  decay.  We  do  not 
claim  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  bounded  by  the 
church,  but  the  church  is  bounded  by  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  represents  in  every  well  ordered  com- 
munity an  institution  that  affiliates  with  every 
force  that  has  for  its  goal  the  uplift  of  society. 

The  laissez-faire  principle  does  not  and  will  not 
save  societly,  build  empires  of  righteousness,  nor 
establish  constitutions  of  freedom.  Eternal  vigil- 
ance is  the  watchword  of  liberty,  and  the  constant 
necessity  of  great  achievement.  Men  worthy  to  be 
called  prophets  are  pointing  out  signs  which  indi- 
cate "  the  speedy  approach  of  some  mightier  crisis 
than  has  ever  yet  been  registered  on  the  pages  of 
history,"  and  it  may  be  that  the  crisis  is  near  at 
hand.  Surely  delay  for  a  more  auspicious  season 
for  a  forward  movement,  can  be  designated  by  no 
milder  terms  than  criminal  hesitancy.  It  has  been 
said  by  some  one  that  "  nations  rise  to  the  climax  of 
their  life  and  humanity  unfolds  its  enormous  dor- 
mant capacities,  only  when  religion  enters  into  a 
living  and  inspiring  relation  to  all  the  rest  of  human 
life." 

Our  country  must  have  more  than  civilization. 
It  must  have  Christ  as  a  controlling  force.  There 

59 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

is  no  excuse  if  we  as  a  nation  do  not  achieve  a  his- 
tory and  destiny  whose  ruling  passion  is  the  altru- 
ism of  Calvary's  cross. 

Material  wealth  and  prosperity,  and  the  grand 
enterprise  of  commerce,  cannot  work  out  our  sal- 
vation without  holiness  and  the  sacrificial  altar. 
Great  continental  railroads  already  cross  our  plains, 
pass  over  or  through  the  mountains,  and  still  more 
are  being  built,  great  cities  are  rising  along  the  foot- 
hills and  on  the  vast  stretches  of  prairie,  but  unless 
these  material  signs  of  marvellous  progress,  shall 
be  accompanied  with  regenerating  power  of  the 
Gospel,  unless  churches  and  a  Christian  conscience 
erect  bulwarks  of  social  order,  morality  and  piety, 
the  foundations  of  peace  and  prosperity  are  not  se- 
cure. Material  riches  and  physical  features  are 
only  to  be  looked  upon  as  God-given  opportunities 
for  the  church  of  Christ  to  use  in  planting  Chris- 
tian institutions  that  will  keep  pace  with  the  star 
of  empire  in  its  westward  march. 

While  spending  a  vacation  in  the  Puget  Sound 
region,  I  was  permitted  to  visit  one  of  our  splendid 
$12,000,000  battleships.  Although  the  building  of 
these  great  warships  is  impoverishing  civilized  na- 
tions, we  have  nevertheless  a  sort  of  patriotic  pride 
in  these  mighty  dreadnaughts  of  the  sea.  On  this 
occasion  I  learned  something  about  our  Navy  I 
never  knew  before,  but  which  I  was  glad  to  learn. 
The  captain  after  showing  me  the  splendid  equip- 

60 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

ment  and  elegant  furnishings,  took  me  into  the 
watch  tower  for  a  general  view  of  this  monster 
vessel.  There  were  floating  all  the  flags  of  the 
nations.  The  captain  with  patriotic  pride  in- 
formed me  that  it  was  a  rule  of  the  Navy  that  the 
stars  and  stripes  were  never  allowed  to  float  under- 
neath the  flags  of  other  nations;  it  always  hung 
from  the  top-mast,  "  Except,"  he  said,  "  on  one 
occasion  when  there  was  an  exception  to  this  rule, 
and  that  was  on  Sabbath  morning  when  the  sailors 
and  officers  of  the  ship  were  assembled  for  religious 
worship;  then  the  flag  of  our  nation  was  lowered 
and  the  Red  Cross  Banner  of  Christ  was  lifted 
above  them  all." 

When  I  learned  this  fact,  my  blood  tingled  a 
little  quicker  with  fervent  patriotism.  On  think- 
ing of  this  official  and  national  act  in  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  sovereignty  of  our  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour Jesus  Christ,  for  a  moment  at  least,  in  spite 
of  the  sins  and  graft  and  present  day  revelations 
of  political  corruption  so  rife,  I  was  thankful  as 
never  before,  of  being  an  American  citizen. 

Should  it  not  inspire  every  one  of  us  to  a  truer 
patriotism  as  we  think  of  our  nation  in  humble 
worship  thus  honouring  the  Cross,  the  symbol  of 
our  Lord's  sovereignty  and  His  redemptive  power. 
Not  only  our  nation,  but  let  it  be  said  to  the  honour 
of  some  other  nations  and  great  powers,  that  the 
Christ  is  acknowledged  Lord  over  all. 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

This  inscription  is  found  on  the  fly  leaf  of  an 
old  Bible,  presented  to  the  old  Bruton  church,  Wil- 
liamsburg,  Virginia,  at  the  three  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  permanent  establishment  of  English 
civilization  in  America.  The  inscription  is  as  fol- 
lows :  "  This  is  presented  by  his  Majesty,  King 
Edward,  the  Seventh,  King  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  Emperor  of  India,  to  the  church 
of  Bruton  —  a  shrine  rich  in  venerable  traditions  of 
worship,  in  solemn  memories  of  patriots  and  states- 
men, and  in  historic  witness  to  the  oneness  of 
our  peoples.  The  King  will  ever  hope  and  pray 
that  the  ties  of  kinship  and  language  and  the  com- 
mon heritage  of  ordered  worship  and  ennobling 
ideas,  may  through  the  saving  faith  in  our  Lord  and 
Redeemer  Jesus  Christ,  revealed  in  these  sacred 
pages,  continue  to  unite  Great  Britain  and  America 
in  a  beneficient  fellowship  for  setting  forward  peace 
and  good-will  among  all  men." 

While  therefore  we  may  feel  a  certain  patriotic 
pride  in  the  defence  afforded  by  our  great  and 
magnificent  battleships,  yet  may  we  not  believe  that 
the  sacred  teachings  of  the  Book  has  still  more 
defensive  power  in  deciding  all  questions  of  dispute 
between  nations,  and  a  still  greater  influence  in  unit- 
ing all  kindred  and  tongues  "  in  a  beneficent  fellow- 
ship for  setting  forward  peace  and  good  will  among 
all  men." 

On  a  pinnacle  of  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes, 
62 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

fourteen  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  surrounded 
by  other  peaks  of  perpetual  snow,  stands  a  monu- 
ment to  Christ.  The  statue  cost  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  was  paid  for  by  subscriptions 
from  the  people,  the  working  classes  contributing 
liberally.  Chile  and  Argentine  have  lifted  it  as  a 
tangible  witness  of  international  brotherhood.  On 
the  granite  pedestal  of  this  monument  is  this  in- 
scription :  "  Sooner  shall  these  mountains  crumble 
to  dust  than  Argentines  and  Chileans  break  the 
peace  which  at  the  feet  of  Christ  the  Redeemer  they 
have  sworn  to  maintain."  On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  base,  the  angel  song  of  Bethlehem,  "  On  earth 
peace,  good  will  toward  all  men."  So  it  has  come 
to  pass  that  He  is  recognized  as  the  way,  the  life 
and  the  truth,  more  powerful  than  dreadnaughts, 
for  maintaining  international  peace. 

Let  this  truth  be  proclaimed  in  all  lands  and  to 
all  people,  until  the  dynamic  power  of  its  person- 
ality in  the  revealed  Christ,  touch  capital  and  make 
it  kind;  touch  education  and  rid  it  of  paganism; 
touch  politics  and  engraft  righteousness ;  touch  cor- 
porations and  make  them  servants  of  God;  touch 
nations  and  make  them  obedient  to  the  King  of 
Kings. 

Now  is  the  opportunity  and  may  the  responsibil- 
ity be  accepted  with  that  devotion  and  loyalty  by 
the  whole  church  which  is  sure  to  crown  effort  with 
success.  There  have  been  times  when  the  church 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

confronted  crises  as  great  as  those  before  it  now  on 
certain  fields;  but  never  before  has  there  been  such 
a  synchronizing  of  crises  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
This  is  a  testing  time  for  the  church,  and  if  it 
neglects  to  meet  successfully  the  present  world 
crises  by  failing  to  discharge  its  responsibility  to  the 
whole  world,  it  will  weaken  its  power  both  on  the 
home  and  foreign  fields,  and  seriously  handicap  its 
mission  to  the  coming  generations.  Nothing  less 
than  the  inadequacy  of  Christianity  as  a  world  re- 
ligion is  on  trial. 

This  is  a  decisive  hour  for  Christian  missions. 
The  call  of  Providence  to  our  Lord's  disciples,  of 
whatever  ecclesiastical  connection,  is  direct  and 
urgent  to  undertake  without  delay  the  task  of  carry- 
ing the  Gospel  to  all  the  world. 

It  is  high  time  to  face  this  duty  and  with  serious 
purpose  discharge  it.  The  opportunity  is  inspir- 
ing; the  responsibility  is  undeniable.  The  Gospel 
is  all-inclusive  in  its  scope,  and  we  are  convinced 
that  there  never  was  a  time  more  favourable  for 
uniting  our  forces,  and  by  prayerful  action  make  the 
universality  of  the  idea  a  practical  reality  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church. 

Dr.  Charles  L.  Thompson  said  in  an  address  be- 
fore the  General  Assembly  at  Denver  in  1909,  "  The 
day  of  small  things  between  nations  is  past.  The 
battles  around  the  Mediterranean  were  trifles  com- 
pared to  the  marshalling  of  final  forces  on  the  Medi- 

64 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  RESPONSIBILITY 

terranean  of  the  west.  And  the  flag  those  forces 
shall  fly  —  white  in  friendship,  or  bloody  in  battle 
—  will  be  determined  most  of  all  by  the  moral  char- 
acter of  our  country,  and  especially  of  the  Pacific 
Empire.  Wake  up,  O  Church  of  God:  before  op- 
portunity stiffens  into  destiny." 

It  seems  that  we  have  machinery  enough.  What 
is  needed  is  power,  that  will  put  this  machinery  into 
active  service  in  the  great  conquest  going  on  be- 
tween the  powers  of  light  and  darkness. 

It  is  related  that  when  Ole  Bull  was  in  the  zenith 
of  his  triumph,  he  played  before  the  students  of 
Princeton  university.  As  he  played  they  heard  the 
birds  warbling  among  the  trees  of  the  forest;  they 
heard  the  storms  as  they  thundered  back  and  forth 
among  the  crags  of  the  mountains,  and  then  the 
tones  became  so  soft  and  so  sweet  they  could  almost 
believe  a  mother  was  singing  her  babe  asleep. 
When  he  finished,  they  crowded  around  him  with 
congratulations  and  expressions  of  praise  for  his 
wonderful  gift.  He  said  to  them,  "  It  is  not  in  the 
instrument  or  bow,  though  I  use  the  best  that  money 
can  buy ;  it  is  not  in  the  fingers  that  press  the  strings 
or  in  the  hand  that  draws  the  bow.  If  there  is 
anything  to  tell,  it  is  this,  I  never  play  until  my  soul 
is  full,  and  the  music  is  the  overflow  of  the  soul/' 

If  we  have  been  trying  to  play  the  melodies  of 
Jesus,  without  this  soul-fulness ;  if  we  have  been 
wondering  why  men  did  not  stop  and  listen  and 

65 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

bow  in  homage  before  our  Lord,  may  it  not  be  that 
the  secret  of  our  disappointment  has  been  in  our 
lack  of  soul  earnestness? 

Unless  our  education,  our  doctrines,  and  all  our 
equipments  are  animated  with  the  Divine  Spirit,  the 
Gospel  we  preach  will  fail  to  manifest  the  power  of 
God.  The  greatness  of  our  task  and  the  weakness 
of  our  earthen  vessel,  both  emphasize  the  need,  yea, 
the  necessity  of  keeping  close  against  the  heart  of 
the  Infinite  One,  for  the  fellowship  that  will  put 
the  touch  of  power  into  our  ministry,  and  enable  us 
to  accomplish  that  which  pleases  our  Master. 

I  cannot  more  fittingly  close  this  chapter  than  by 
quoting  the  language  of  Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler 
on  the  missionary  idea.  "  Behind  Calvary,  beneath 
the  Cross,  older  than  the  Book,  the  sacrament,  the 
sacrifice,  the  ceremonial  —  all  the  panorama  of  re- 
demption is  the  eternal  love  of  God,  who  purposes 
to  save  man  by  the  Redeemer,  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
the  ministry  of  the  church.  This  love  which  stoops 
to  the  guilt  and  need  of  man,  is  an  infinite  shore- 
less ocean  beyond  our  thought  or  description. 
Here  is  the  missionary  idea.  To  apologize  for  it, 
is  to  apologize  for  Calvary,  which  is  its  expres- 


66 


CHAPTER  IV 
HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

WE  both  hear  and  read  a  great  deal  about 
heroism  in  foreign  missions,  but  much 
less  has  been  said  or  written  about  the 
heroic   element   in   home   missionary  work.     The 
story  of  self-sacrifice  and  the  courage  required  in 
pioneer  work  in  our  own  country  has  not  been  writ- 
ten and  perhaps  never  will  be,  for  much  of  it  is 
that  kind  of  service,  generally  unnoticed  and  un- 
recorded by  the  publicity  bureau. 

The  demoniac  out  of  whom  Christ  cast  the  dev- 
ils, besought  Him  that  he  might  be  with  Him. 
But  Jesus  sent  him  away,  saying,  "  Return  to  thine 
own  house  and  show  how  great  things  Jesus  hath 
done  unto  thee."  He  went  his  way  and  published 
through  the  whole  city  how  great  things  Jesus  had 
done  unto  him.  It  would  have  been  much  easier 
to  have  followed  Jesus  and  joined  the  disciples, 
than  to  have  returned  to  his  own  city  and  there 
testify  for  Christ.  With  Jesus  and  His  disciples, 
he  would  have  had  the  personal  and  present  inspi- 
ration and  sympathy  of  their  direct  fellowship,  but 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

to  go  back  to  his  own  town  and  home,  required 
more  courage  and  fortitude. 

There  is  a  certain  glamour  thrown  around  the 
foreign  missionary,  that  is  not  manifest  in  the  case 
of  a  home  missionary.  Let  me  give  a  single  illus- 
tration as  proof  of  this  statement.  It  is  an  in- 
stance that  came  under  my  personal  observation. 

In  the  city  of  B there  was  a  meeting  of  the 

Synod.  An  esteemed  and  eminently  successful 
foreign  missionary  lady  was  to  be  present  to  ad- 
dress the  Synod.  Also  an  equally  eminent  and 
successful  home  missionary  lady,  who  had  devoted 
her  life  to  the  Christianizing  of  a  certain  tribe  of  In- 
dians in  our  own  country.  The  story  of  her  sacri- 
fice and  devotion  was  known  to  only  a  few  who 
were  intimately  acquainted  with  her  work.  She 
was  a  graduate  of  college  and  had  prepared  herself 
for  this  special  work.  When  announcement  was 
made  the  previous  Sabbath  to  the  convening  of 
Synod,  the  pastor  had  ten  applications  to  entertain 
the  foreign  missionary  lady,  but  not  one  for  the 
home  missionary,  and  in  fact  solicitation  for  her 
entertainment  was  necessary.  After  she  had  made 
her  address  and  the  people  heard  the  story  of  her 
work,  and  what  great  things  had  been  accomplished 
through  her  devotion,  invitations  to  dinner  were 
not  wanting,  for  then  there  was  no  little  competi- 
tion in  efforts  of  the  entertainers  to  show  her  hos- 
pitality. They  did  not  expect  such  gifts,  refine- 

68 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

ment  and  ability  from  a  home  missionary.  Why 
did  they  not  expect  it?  Let  the  reader  draw  his 
own  conclusion. 

We  would  not  detract  in  the  least  from  the  glory 
and  honour  the  foreign  missionary  deserves  and  re- 
ceives, but  we  should  be  a  little  more  ready  to 
recognize  the  heroic  element  in  the  self-denial  and 
self-forgetfulness  of  those  high-souled  men  and 
women,  whose  lives  have  made  it  possible  to  tell 
the  story  of  missionary  enterprise  in  America. 

There  are  student  volunteer  associations,  whose 
purpose  is  to  enlist  young  men  of  ability  and  con- 
secration as  heralds  of  the  Gospel  in  foreign  lands. 
The  heroic  element  has  been  emphasized  (and  it 
is  right  that  it  should  be)  and  appeals  for  volun- 
teers have  been  made  along  this  line  with  marked 
success.  Many  of  our  strongest  young  men  have 
volunteered  to  become  foreign  missionaries  through 
such  an  appeal,  and  consecrated  their  gifts  and  set 
their  faces  thitherwards  long  before  the  finishing 
day  of  their  preparation. 

There  is  a  patriotism  in  human  nature  that  re- 
sponds to  the  call  for  self-sacrifice,  and  which 
turns  a  deaf  ear  to  any  call  with  this  element  left 
out.  Our  country  is  experiencing  great  difficulty 
in  these  days  of  peace  to  secure  volunteers  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  keep  up  our  regular  army.  The 
low  wages  paid  the  private  soldier  has  been  assigned 
as  the  principal  reason  why  men  will  not  enlist. 

69 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

But  this  is  not  the  reason.  Times  of  peace  are  not 
so  heroic  as  times  of  conflict.  It  is  rather  because 
the  call  for  volunteers  in  the  army  to-day  does  not 
carry  with  it  opportunity  for  heroism.  When  our 
nation  has  been  engaged  in  war  there  has  always 
been  a  ready  response.  During  the  Civil  War, 
mothers,  wives  and  daughters,  stitched  and  sewed 
through  tear-lensed  eyes,  because  the  fathers,  hus- 
bands and  sons  had  listened  to  their  country's  call, 
and  had  gone  to  the  tented  field,  ready  for  that 
sacrifice  which  counts  not  life  too  costly.  Thou- 
sands volunteer  in  times  of  war,  for  one  in  times  of 
peace.  The  question  of  low  wages  is  not  a  con- 
sideration when  a  nation's  life  is  in  peril. 

So  it  is  in  missionary  work.  For  foreign  work 
there  are  more  volunteers  than  can  be  sent  by  the 
limited  means  at  command  of  the  foreign  boards. 
These  volunteers  represent  the  highest  grade  of 
scholarship  and  include  the  most  promising  men  en- 
tering the  ministry.  But  when  a  similar  call  is 
made  for  home  missionary  work  out  on  the  firing 
line,  there  is  an  indifferent  response.  But  why  the 
difference?  We  are  insisting  that  there  should  be 
no  distinction  between  foreign  and  home  mission- 
ary work.  It  is  one  work,  the  extension  of  the 
Kingdom  and  the  fulfillment  of  the  great  com- 
mand of  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  "  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world."  So  it  is  one  work  and  should  be 
designated  as  missionary  work,  without  any  quali- 

70 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

fying  adjectives  to  indicate  our  own  country  or  a 
foreign  people.  All  who  have  not  accepted  Jesus 
Christ  as  Lord  over  all  and  in  all,  are  foreigners 
to  the  kingdom  of  God,  whether  they  live  in  so- 
called  Christian  or  heathen  lands.  Whence  then 
the  difference  ?  The  needs  here  in  the  far  West  are 
as  great  as  any  place  in  the  world,  when  we  take 
into  consideration  the  proportionate  influence,  and 
we  would  think  ought  to  be  a  stronger  appeal  to 
Christian  patriotism.  But  such  is  evidently  not 
the  case.  In  our  eastern  cities  a  prominent  man 
writes  me  that  ministers  are  falling  over  each  other 
in  their  efforts  to  get  a  hearing  in  some  vacant  pul- 
pit; that  from  ten  to  fifty  applications  are  made  for 
every  vacancy,  and  yet  they  tell  us  there  is  a  dearth 
of  ministers.  So  there  is  in  some  places,  but  not  in 
others.  It  is  the  policy  of  tramps  to  frequent  those 
localities  and  beg  their  subsistence  where  there  is 
the  least  to  do,  and  they  shun  districts  where  there 
is  a  demand  for  labour.  So  it  would  seem  that  min- 
isters seek  localities  already  crowded  with  minis- 
ters and  shun  the  places  where  there  is  the  greatest 
need. 

In  our  seminaries  we  have  a  class  of  men,  who 
before  their  course  of  preparation  is  finished  have 
enlisted  for  the  foreign  field.  To  that  work  they 
are  ready  to  go  and  will  go,  in  spite  of  flattering 
calls  from  other  churches,  where  remuneration  is 
really  tempting  to  such  as  can  be  tempted  by  assur- 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ance  of  comfort  above  the  average.  But  if  there 
is  such  a  class  in  our  seminaries  consecrated  to  work 
on  the  western  frontier  of  our  own  land,  we,  who 
have  the  responsibility  of  securing  ministers  for 
these  fields,  have  not  so  far  discovered  it.  If 
there  is  no  such  class  in  our  seminaries  it  indicates 
a  need  that  should  be  supplied.  Men  for  work  on 
the  frontier  firing  line  need  special  training  and 
preparation  for  this  kind  of  service.  They  need 
to  know  something  more  than  philosophy,  Latin, 
Greek,  Hebrew,  theology,  church  history  and  eccle- 
siastical government.  A  knowledge  of  all  these 
will  not  by  any  means  be  a  disqualification.  The 
men  who  build  the  church  of  God  in  this  new 
country,  must  as  a  rule  build  on  foundations  of 
their  own  digging  and  erect  the  superstructure  of 
their  own  planning,  without  any  cabinet  of  elders 
and  spiritual  advisers.  fThe  construction  must  be 
from  raw  material.  They  must  solicit  funds  and 
know  how  to  approach  business  men  and  plead  the 
Lord's  cause  with  those  who  rather  boastfully 
acknowledge  no  church  relation  and  who  are 
reached  only  through  the  social  side  of  life.  They 
may  be  generous  often  times  to  a  fault,  for  both 
good  and  bad  objects  appeal  to  their  beneficence. 
The  successful  minister  is  sometimes  designated  out 
here  as  a  good  "mixer."  I  do  not  like  the  term, 
but  it  means  social  qualities  that  can  be  all  things 
to  all  men,  without  lowering  the  standard  or  dig- 

72 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

nity  of  his  high  calling.  To  meet  the  conditions 
of  success  in  these  frontier  fields,  the  minister  ought 
not  to  be  in  that  state  of  preparation  where  all  the 
practical  things  must  be  learned  after  he  undertakes 
his  work.  There  is  much  that  must  be  learned  in 
the  ministry  that  no  seminary  can  teach,  but  there 
is  much  of  the  practical  that  can  be  learned,  and 
ought  to  be  learned  without  the  expensive  lesson  of 
experience. 

The  ministerial  supply  for  home  mission  work 
has  come  to  be  a  more  serious  question  than  the 
church  realizes  at  the  present  time.  It  is  com- 
paratively easy  to  organize  new  churches  and  plant 
missionary  stations  along  frontier  lines.  The  more 
serious  problem  is  to  supply  these  churches  with  a 
ministry  consecrated  and  adapted  to  the  work. 

The  requirements  for  such  a  ministry  are  simple 
and  few.  A  great  head  is  not  always  essential,  but 
a  great  heart  must  ever  be.  All  the  eloquence  re- 
quired is  the  product  of  an  inspired  heart  intensely 
positive  and  spiritual.  Not  dogmatic,  but  construc- 
tive ability,  that  knows  how  to  make  something  out 
of  raw  material;  the  gift  which  stimulates  no 
doubts,  but  directs  thought  to  definite  conclusions; 
a  man  having  the  power  of  initiative  and  sympathy 
broad  enough  and  strong  enough  to  help  in  all 
phases  of  soul  struggle,  especially  appreciative  of 
the  difficulties  of  young  people,  for  this  is  the  class 
he  has  to  win  and  save ;  preaching  with  no  uncertain 

73 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

sound  concerning  the  fundamentals  of  religious  life, 
so  that  those  who  hear  him  fed  that  they  are 
brought  in  touch  with  a  man  who  believes  his  mes- 
sage, believes  it  intensely  and  is  anxious  to  have 
others  believe  it  also, —  these  epitomize  the  need. 

If  these  are  simple  requirements,  they  are  such 
that  can  only  be  taught  to  those  who  have  hearts 
prepared  by  nature  and  grace.  Education  and  bril- 
liant gifts,  accompanied  with  the  above  mentioned 
graces,  insure  certain  success  on  the  home  mission 
field. 

The  appeal  for  such  men  cannot  be  made  on  the 
basis  of  material  reward,  but  only  to  the  recom- 
pense of  reward  God  gives  to  every  faithful  serv- 
ant. Unless  men  have  an  open  ear  to  hear  the  call 
of  God  to  go  where  the  need  is  the  greatest,  and 
where  there  are  few  to  supply  that  need,  the  call 
will  be  made  in  vain.  Home  mission  work  ac- 
cepted as  a  last  resort  had  better  go  unheeded. 

There  shall  be  no  attempt  in  these  chapters  to  re- 
late the  hardships  of  the  missionary  on  the  frontier. 
If  I  wished  to  do  so  there  is  plenty  of  material  with- 
in my  knowledge.  Some  of  the  stories  I  could 
relate  would  be  pathetic,  and  some  might  be  called 
tragedies.  It  is  not  deemed  wise  to  publish  them, 
for  the  reason  that  they  are  the  rare  exceptions  and 
not  the  rule.  In  fact  the  real  hardships  of  pioneer 
life,  the  pathetic  and  tragical,  are  more  common 
in  other  professions  than  in  the  ministry.  The 

74 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

courage  and  bravery  of  many  a  man  and  wife,  in 
their  arduous  and  often  times  hazardous  efforts  to 
provide  for  themselves  and  their  children  a  home 
they  can  call  their  own,  deserves  the  honour  heroes 
merit.  The  men  and  women  living  in  the  shacks, 
which  now  dot  the  bench  lands  and  foot-hills  of  the 
mountains,  are  not  the  crude,  rude  and  uneducated 
their  habitations  would  indicate. 

Having  been  invited  recently  to  hold  a  religious 
service  in  a  new  settlement,  so  new  that  a  post- 
office  had  not  been  appointed,  where  about  twenty 
homesteaders  had  filed  on  claims,  the  above  state- 
ment finds  illustration.  The  only  place  for  gather- 
ing an  assembly  was  the  living  room  of  a  log  cabin. 
There  were  seventeen  gathered  for  this  meeting,  it 
being  the  first  religious  service  conducted  in  the  new 
settlement.  They  represented  six  eastern  states. 
In  that  small  gathering  there  were  three  men  and 
two  women  graduates  of  eastern  colleges.  One 
man  had  been  receiving  three  thousand  per  year  in 
a  government  position,  which  he  resigned  on  ac- 
count of  failing  health.  He  came  to  the  West  for 
other  than  material  gain.  He  and  his  wife  were 
living  in  a  small  one  room  house,  the  one  room 
being  kitchen,  parlour,  dining  and  bedroom.  A 
happier  home  would  be  hard  to  find.  Their  renewed 
health,  prospects  of  better  conditions  and  promise 
of  future  independence,  all  contributed  to  their  un- 
speakable joy.  Hardships  are  not  serious  hind- 

75 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ranees  to  the  blessings  of  home.  The  failure  of 
first  crops,  the  disappointments  of  unrealized  ex- 
pectations, the  stringent  economy  and  want  of  com- 
forts deemed  necessary  by  those  who  have  never 
had  the  experience  of  such  deprivation,  develop  a 
type  of  character  which  refuses  to  accept  defeat. 
These  first  homesteaders  are  bearing  the  brunt  of 
those  adversities  which  must  be  met  in  all  newly 
settled  countries.  They  blaze  the  trail  for  a  second 
or  third  generation  of  comfortable  homes  with  mod- 
ern conveniences. 

The  missionary  who  comes  as  their  spiritual  ad- 
viser and  helper,  cannot  expect  the  luxuries  of  a  well 
furnished  home,  nor  the  adornments  of  what  we  call 
up-to-date  church  building  in  which  to  worship. 
Let  me  however  assure  the  reader  that  there  is  a 
pleasure  in  preaching  to  a  small  company  of  pio- 
neer settlers  in  a  log  school  house,  with  only  benches 
for  seats,  that  cannot  be  appreciated  without  the  ex- 
perience. There  is  a  loftier  inspiration  than  comes 
from  organ  gallery  or  cushioned  pew. 

The  missionaries'  recompense  is  of  a  quality  in- 
comprehensible to  the  fastidious  clergyman,  whose 
environment  has  constantly  been  such  as  wealth 
could  furnish. 

The  inspiration  comes  from  shaping  things  out 
of  raw  material.  Just  as  an  Angelo  sees  in  the 
rough  stone,  beautiful  forms  of  angels  to  be 
wrought  through  his  skill  and  touch,  so  with  the 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

ministry  under  crude  conditions.  The  building  on 
no  other  man's  foundation,  carries  with  it  incen- 
tive to  enthusiasm,  and  is  exultant  in  the  process 
of  completion.  The  man  who  has  given  his  all  for 
the  Master's  use,  will  not  be  deterred  or  frightened 
when  confronted  with  a  service  that  means  self- 
denial.  The  missionaries'  recompense,  or  in  fact, 
that  of  any  minister,  is  not  measured  by  dollar 
marks.  The  average  minister's  salary  in  the  United 
States,  as  reported  by  the  census  of  1906,  is  six 
hundred  sixty-three  dollars.  The  statistician  ad- 
mits, however,  that  results  in  this  first  attempt  to 
secure  official  figures  concerning  the  salaries  paid 
ministers,  is  not  entirely  satisfactory,  on  account 
of  the  failure  of  some  to  report  the  salary,  and  of 
others  to  report  with  sufficient  clearness.  In  some 
instances  it  could  not  be  determined  whether  the 
amount  reported  was  yearly  or  monthly  salary. 
Therefore  we  cannot  place  dependence  on  the  ac- 
curacy of  such  statistics.  That  ministers'  salaries 
are  very  meagre  in  comparison  with  earnings  of 
other  professions,  demanding  long  preparation  and 
large  expenditure  of  money,  we  must  readily  admit. 
The  minister  is  not  supposed  to  choose  his  profes- 
sion under  the  influence  of  salary  inducement.  Let 
us  then  dismiss  the  subject  of  material  wages.  The 
chief  recompense  in  any  profession  of  life,  more 
especially  that  of  the  ministry,  consists  in  self-sac- 
rificing devotion  to  the  interests  of  others.  This  is 

77 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

the  teaching  of  Calvary's  cross.  Prompted  by  its 
teaching  and  living  under  its  influence,  we  come 
into  the  possession  of  the  highest  conceivable  recom- 
pense for  this  life,  and  the  only  service  that  has 
any  promise  of  reward  in  the  future.  The  great- 
ness of  any  man's  power  is  the  measure  of  his  sur- 
render. Judging  from  my  own  experience,  the 
salary  question  looms  up  more  largely  in  the  view 
of  the  young  minister,  than  it  does  after  ten  or  fif- 
teen years  of  active  service. 

A  senior  in  one  of  our  theological  seminaries 
wrote  me  a  few  years  ago,  refusing  a  call  given 
him  to  a  missionary  church  on  the  frontier,  on  the 
ground  that  he  could  not  possibly  live  on  less  than 
twelve  hundred  dollars  and  free  manse  per  year. 

He  accepted  a  call  in  an  eastern  village,  which 
had  reached  its  possibility  of  growth  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before.  He  was  promised  what  was  in  his 
estimation  the  minimum  salary  on  which  a  min- 
ister could  live.  Recently  I  received  a  letter  from 
the  same  person  offering  his  services  for  frontier 
work,  saying,  that  salary  was  no  consideration,  if 
he  could  only  be  given  a  field  of  labor  with  possi- 
bilities of  growth.  In  the  meantime,  the  mission 
church  which  seemed  so  small  to  him  ten  years 
previous,  had  now  grown  to  such  proportions  and 
strength  as  to  pay  its  minister  eighteen  hundred 
dollars  per  year  and  manse. 

Here  is  another  illustration  of  the  opposite  kind 
78 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

that  has  come  under  my  personal  observation.  A 
young  man  about  to  graduate  from  the  seminary  a 
few  years  ago,  applied  for  a  missionary  field,  say- 
ing, that  he  wished  to  devote  the  first  five  years  of 
his  ministry  to  strictly  missionary  work,  and  that 
he  was  willing  to  take  any  field  however  difficult, 
where  there  was  opportunity  for  usefulness.  He 
was  given  a  most  difficult  field,  which  he  soon  de- 
veloped into  a  self-supporting  church.  Then  he 
asked  for  another  mission  charge  and  undertook  an- 
other apparently  hopeless  field  and  was  as  eminently 
successful,  where  others  had  failed.  His  success- 
ful ministry  in  small  places  attracted  attention  from 
larger  places,  and  now  he  preaches  every  Sabbath  to 
the  largest  Protestant  congregation  in  the  state. 
Who  will  not  recognize  his  heroic  spirit  from  the 
beginning  and  all  through  the  steps  by  which  he 
was  led  to  his  present  attainment  and  eminence. 
He  is  still  fired  with  the  missionary  spirit,  and  in 
addition  to  his  work  in  his  large  congregation  and 
rapidly  growing  city,  gives  unsparingly  of  his  time 
to  mission  fields  near  by.  His  success  has  been  his 
recompense  as  well  as  an  inspiration  for  larger 
things.  Only  the  heroic  can  make  such  a  record. 
But  there  are  other  compensations  than  the  joy 
of  success.  In  all  our  frontier  villages  and  coun- 
try districts  there  is  the  reward  that  comes  from  a 
most  sincere  appreciation  of  self-denial  and  conse- 
crated endeavour  in  the  Master's  service.  I  do  not 

79 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

mention  this  as  the  reward  that  belongs  exclusively 
to  the  missionary,  but  it  is  an  undisputed  fact  that 
sharing  of  hardships  cements  friendship.  Every 
pastor  knows  the  value  of  friends,  but  the  most  en- 
during ties  are  those  which  have  been  made  through 
the  ministry  of  sanctified  sorrow. 

There  is  no  comparing  the  blessings  of  a  big 
salary  in  any  secular  pursuit,  to  those  which  come 
to  the  ministry  of  one  whose  unselfish  devotion 
has  won  the  hearts  of  a  community,  and  especially 
of  a  new  community,  where  common  hardships  pro- 
duce social  equality  and  form  friendships  through 
a  ministry  that  is  marked  by  the  altruism  of  the 
Cross.  He  becomes  the  uncrowned  king  before 
whom  the  people  bow  with  reverence,  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  an  authority  obtained  by  merit  of  good 
works. 

Our  age  has  been  characterized  as  lacking  the 
reverential  spirit;  that  the  ministry  no  longer  en- 
joys that  respect  due  so  holy  a  calling.  If  this  be 
true,  may  it  not  be  as  much  the  fault  of  the  min- 
istry as  that  of  the  age  in  which  we  live  ?  However 
true  the  above  inference  may  be  in  some  parts  of 
the  country,  out  here  along  the  Rockies,  or  what 
has  been  fictitiously  called  the  "  wild  and  woolly 
West";  a  virtuous  woman  and  a  consecrated  min- 
ister, have  the  devout  respect  they  deserve.  This 
is  true,  not  only  in  the  fellowship  of  religious  peo- 
ple, but  also  in  the  rougher  elements  of  society. 

80 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

The  writer  has  often  been  thrown  in  the  association 
of  the  latter  in  his  itinerary  through  the  state;  on 
stage  coaches,  in  hotels,  and  in  some  instances  where 
saloons  have  been  given  for  religious  service ;  yet  in 
no  instance  have  I  ever  been  treated  with  any  other 
than  real  and  sincere  respect,  and  in  most  cases 
with  devout  reverence.  There  is  no  need  of  carry- 
ing concealed  weapons  for  personal  protection  in 
any  part  of  the  West.  We  have  many  "  undesir- 
able citizens,"  but  even  those  who  may  -be  thus 
classified  have  not  lost  the  instinct  to  act  in  a 
gentlemanly  manner  when  occasions  require. 

Another  source  of  recompense  is  found  in  the 
satisfaction  of  building  on  no  other  man's  founda- 
tion. If  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  could 
boast  of  this  as  one  of  the  inspiring  features  of  his 
missionary  endeavours,  we  may  with  like  modesty 
find  in  this  a  similar  source  of  recompense  in  pioneer 
work.  To  know  that  in  one  respect  at  least  we  are 
doing  the  same  kind  of  work  that  fanned  the  zeal 
and  fired  the  courage  of  the  Apostles  of  the  early 
church,  is  some  compensation  for  the  hardships  of 
present  day  pioneer  service. 

The  organization  of  churches,  the  gathering  of 
foundational  material,  fostering  the  beginnings  of 
promising  enterprises,  sowing  the  seed  and  nur- 
turing the  infant  growth  of  undertakings  that 
promise  rich  fruitage  in  the  future,  richly  compen- 
sate the  missionary  for  the  necessary  denial  of  many 

81 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

material  comforts.  It  requires  a  high  order  of 
heroism  to  see  compensation  in  such  service,  for 
it  is  visible  only  to  the  vision  of  faith.  It  is  the 
pioneer  missionary's  common  function  to  know 
something  of  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  suffering. 
He  could  not  prevent  spiritual  conquest  from  be- 
ing enormously  costly.  This  kind  of  service  ex- 
acts vicarious  travail  of  soul  in  behalf  of  an  unre- 
generate  world.  It  exacts  toiling  burdens,  like  a 
mother's,  in  bearing  the  infirmities  of  the  weak  and 
sinful.  It  exacts  self -abnegating  service  for  which 
earthly  rewards  will  not  compensate,  no  proxy  sup- 
plant, and  no  lesser  gift  than  divine  love  requite. 
"  That  which  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened  except  it 
die."  "  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it."  The 
crucified  is  not  the  only  great  substitute  for  dying 
sinners.  His  prototypes  are  on  the  earth  to-day  in 
the  living  heroes  who  are  enduring  hardness  as  good 
soldiers  in  the  great  world  conquest  for  souls. 

Herein  is  the  high  ideal  of  missionary  service, 
and  the  recompense  is  as  great  as  the  ideal  is  high. 
Any  lower  appeal  is  fruitless  and  unworthy  of  seri- 
ous consideration.  When  a  man  falls  below  his 
profession,  he  will  miss  the  only  real  recompense 
that  inspires  unfailing  courage  in  spiritual  conquest, 
let  it  be  along  the  Rockies,  or  in  the  fever  stricken 
jungles  of  Africa.  We  are  not  told  that  our  vic- 
tories will  come  without  conquest,  but  we  are  told 
that  we  may  ever  rejoice  in  their  certainty. 

82 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

The  calamity  plea,  and  cry  for  pitying  sympathy 
in  behalf  of  the  poor  missionary  is  humiliating  to 
say  the  least.  Missionary  boxes  are  out  of  date  or 
ought  to  be.  Men  sent  out  by  Christ,  as  Christ  was 
sent  by  the  Father,  are  degraded  by  such  senti- 
mental efforts  to  relieve  destitution.  All  sentimen- 
tality about  high  purposes  and  divine  callings  and 
Holy  Spirit  leadings,  shrivel  under  the  blighting 
influence  of  a  coddled  ministry.  The  men  on  the 
frontier,  blazing  the  trail  for  a  future  church,  lift- 
ing the  standard  of  the  cross  in  the  name  of  Him 
who  died  thereon,  who  have  come  into  such  a  serv- 
ice, not  from  necessity,  but  from  choice,  are  not 
wasting  time  in  exposing  their  hardships  as  a  beggar 
his  sores,  to  obtain  alms  through  sentimental  emo- 
tion. They  have  meat  to  eat  and  bread  to 
strengthen  of  which  the  world  knows  not  and  can- 
not know,  because  not  spiritually  discerned. 

This  is  therefore  no  field  for  dull  and  phlegmatic 
minds,  or  hearts  too  small  for  sympathy  for  the 
worst,  nor  spirits  so  holy  and  heavenly  as  to  be 
happy  only  with  saints.  In  the  West  we  have 
passed  the  cowboy  period.  The  missionary  does 
not  need  to  carry  a  gun,  nor  need  he  be  a  pugilist. 
He  must  be  however  able  to  command  the  respect  of 
men  by  his  manly  bearing;  of  the  college  graduate, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  rough  pioneer.  As  a  rule  the 
people  do  not  go  to  church  simply  to  worship.  Un- 
less the  minister  can  speak  and  preach  and  have 

83 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

something  to  present  to  a  thinking  people,  he  will 
not  likely  draw  many  to  hear  him.  There  are  more 
educated  people  and  college  graduates  in  these 
western  towns  than  in  the  average  eastern  village. 
A  high  degree  of  intelligence  and  education  is  de- 
manded for  an  efficient  missionary. 

To  go  to  China  or  Japan,  to  South  America  or 
the  North  Pole,  is  esteemed  heroic;  and  no  doubt 
it  does  demand  heroism ;  but  it  should  be  thought  no 
less  heroic  to  go  to  a  mining  camp  or  a  rural  dis- 
trict in  Montana.  Such  service  may  be  thought  of 
as  commonplace  by  those  who  are  unacquainted 
with  conditions  and  difficulties  the  home  missionary 
has  to  contend  against,  but  those  who  have  the  ac- 
tual experience  know  well  enough  that  more  than 
the  commonplace  is  required  for  successful  work. 
If  the  facts  were  known,  the  hardships  and  self- 
denials  of  the  home  missionary  demand  a  truer 
type  of  heroism  than  any  work  to  which  the  Lord 
calls  on  the  foreign  field.  I  wish  to  put  emphasis 
on  the  fact,  that  the  highest  scholarship,  the  truest 
manhood,  and  deepest  consecration,  are  even  more 
essential  to  success  in  Montana  than  in  China.  A 
man's  denomination  and  cloth  count  for  very  lit- 
tle, but  the  man  counts  for  the  degree  of  his  suc- 
cess or  failure.  If  a  man  can  show  himself  de- 
voted to  his  calling,  free  from  priestly  pretention, 
possessing  tact  in  social  relations,  with  extraordi- 
nary common  sense  and  prudence,  free  from  ecclesi- 

84 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

astical  mannerisms,  with  a  big  heart,  with  love  and 
sympathy  for  his  fellowmen,  he  will  not  want  for 
temporal  support,  and  the  Lord  can  be  trusted  to 
supply  his  spiritual  bread. 

Here  is  a  single  instance  of  what  western  big- 
heartedness  can  do  for  their  minister  in  time  of 

need.     We  have  a  little  church  in  the  town  of  C 

unable  to  support  a  regular  minister,  even  with  a 
large  allowance  from  the  Board  of  Home  Missions. 
A  young  man  of  the  junior  class  in  the  seminary 
came  out  last  year  for  work  during  his  summer  va- 
cation. He  won  the  hearts  of  all  the  people  of 
every  denomination  and  all  classes  of  society.  To- 
wards the  close  of  his  vacation  period,  he  was  taken 
with  appendicitis  and  had  to  go  to  the  hospital  for 
an  operation.  It  was  not  a  normal  case,  and  he  lay 
in  the  hospital  for  six  weeks.  The  hearts  of  the 
people  were  moved  with  compassion,  and  such  a 
compassion  that  expressed  itself  in  raising  money 
enough,  extra  and  above  his  salary,  to  pay  all  his 
hospital  expenses,  a  special  nurse  and  the  doctor's 
bill,  all  of  which  made  an  account  of  no  small  pro- 
portion. The  people  of  the  town  did  not  have  to 
be  solicited,  after  they  knew  who  the  solicitor  was; 
they  came  with  their  money  without  asking  and 
with  that  good  will  which  betokens  the  generous 
spirit  of  the  West.  The  young  brother  came 
among  them  an  absolute  stranger  three  months  be- 
fore, but  it  was  long  enough  for  him  to  win  the  re- 

85 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

spect,  esteem  and  affection  of  nearly  every  house- 
hold. When  I  visited  the  brother  and  stayed  with 
him  three  days,  he  was  so  overjoyed  in  the  kindness 
of  the  people,  that  he  called  it  a  rich  compensation 
for  his  affliction. 

Yes,  there  is  heroism  in  such  work.  There  are 
large  compensations  of  which  the  world  knows  not, 
and  never  can  know,  because  the  secrets  of  the  Lord 
are  for  those  who  love  Him. 

There  is  also  heroism  in  doing  the  work  the  vast 
majority  refuse  to  do,  but  which  must  be  done  by 
some  one.  To  choose  the  work  that  others  refuse 
is  heroic.  The  home  missionary  work  must  be 
done,  and  those  who  are  willing  to  put  every  energy 
of  mind  and  heart  under  draft  for  the  Master's 
use,  in  fields  that  go  begging  for  harvesters,  pos- 
sess qualifications  of  which  heroes  are  made  and 
which  insure  success.  If  the  fields  are  not  ripe  for 
the  harvest,  they  are  fallow  for  the  sowing,  and 
this  is  the  kind  of  work  that  should  appeal  to  the 
heroic  in  the  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  To  irrigate  a 
Sahara  from  the  fountains  of  the  unseen,  with  the 
expectation  that  another  generation  will  reap  the 
prolific  harvest,  requires  faith  of  a  very  high  order. 

When  this  heroic  element  is  discovered  to  be  an 
essential  part,  and  made  as  prominent  as  it  has  been 
in  foreign  work,  may  we  not  hope  and  believe  that 
strong  men  will  recognize  at  home  as  clear  a  chance 
and  as  big  opportunity  and  as  loud  a  call  for  the 

86 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

Sky  Pilot  to  display  courage  and  serve  the  Master, 
in  the  pure  ozone  and  health  giving  atmosphere  of 
the  Rockies,  as  in  the  fever  stricken  jungles  of 
Africa,  or  on  "  India's  coral  strand." 

Thomas  Hastings  must  have  had  this  land  in 
vision  when  he  wrote, 

"Lo,  in  the  desert  rich  flowers  are  springing, 
Streams  ever  copious  are  gliding  along; 
Loud  from  the  mountain-tops  echoes  are  ringing, 
Wastes  rise  in  verdure,  and  mingle  in  song." 

Also  when  William  Cullen  Bryant  sung  as  early  in 
our  history  as  1859,  the  inspiring  prayer  to  the  God 
of  mercy  and  might,  for  the  people  benighted,  who 
dwell  in  the  land  of  light. 

"In  peopled  vale,  in  lonely  glen, 
In  crowded  mart  by  stream  or  sea, 
How  many  of  the  sons  of  men 
Hear  not  the  message  sent  from  Thee. 

"Send  them  Thy  mighty  word  to  speak. 
Till  faith  shall  dawn  and  doubt  depart, 
To  awe  the  bold,  to  stay  the  weak, 
And  bind  and  heal  the  broken  heart. 

"Then  all  these  wastes,  a  dreary  scene, 
On  which  with  sorrowing  eyes  we  gaze, 
Shall  glow  with  living  waters  green, 
And  lift  to  heaven  the  voice  of  praise." 

As  far  as  America  has  been  won  for  Christ,  the 
home  missionary  has  played  a  conspicuous  part,  and 
exhibited  heroic  fortitude.  He  has  everywhere 

87 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

followed  the  tides  of  emigration  westward,  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  planting  churches,  and  laying  foun- 
dations on  which  great  structures  were  built  in  later 
years.  Beginning  with  the  work  of  John  Eliot  and 
David  Brainard  among  the  Indians,  there  has  been 
ever  since  those  who  emulated  their  devotion  and 
heroic  zeal. 

We  cannot  tell  how  much  the  great  succession  of 
missionaries  since  Eliot's  time  have  had  to  do  with 
America's  prestige  and  power,  but  we  may  safely 
assert  that  their  influence  has  played  a  much  larger 
part,  than  will  ever  be  credited  them  in  history. 
The  work  of  the  home  missionary,  though  unap- 
preciated and  unnoticed,  has  acted  like  leaven  among 
the  unseen  forces,  which  produce  well-ordered  and 
industrial  communities.  The  writer  has  personal 
knowledge  of  how  many  of  them  have  denied  them- 
selves the  comforts  of  home  and  endured  hardness 
as  good  soldiers  of  the  Cross,  without  murmurings 
or  complaints,  counting  all  sacrifice  as  incompar- 
able with  the  joy  of  seeing  the  forces  of  righteous- 
ness prevail  and  their  Master's  kingdom  extended. 
When  Marcus  Whitman  said,  "  My  death  may  do 
as  much  for  Oregon  as  my  life  can/'  he  expressed 
the  spirit  that  animated  the  heroic  achievements  of 
many  missionaries  who  have  followed  his  trail 
across  the  continent. 

A  striking  illustration  is  found  in  the  forty  years' 
work  of  Rev.  Stephen  Riggs  among  the  Dakotas. 

88 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

He  and  his  wife  left  their  home  in  the  eastern  state 
as  early  as  1837,  having  for  their  destination  Fort 
Snelling,  then  a  far  outpost  at  the  junction  of  the 
Minnesota  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  near  the  laugh- 
ing waters  of  Minnehaha,  made  famous  by  Long- 
fellow's Hiawatha.  His  "  melodious  repetitions  " 
contributes  a  beautiful  poem  to  literature,  by  weav- 
ing legends  and  traditions  into  a  song  of  pure  ro- 
mance, but  he  hides  Indian  squalor  and  cruelty 
under  the  cover  of  rhythmic  verse,  largely  the 
product  of  vivid  imagination.  At  least  these  first 
missionaries  discovered  that  the  "  land  of  the  Da- 
kotas "  where  the  falls  of  Minnehaha  "  dash  their 
spray,"  was  a  hostile  land  for  the  white  man, 
though, he  came  with  the  message  of  love  and  peace. 
The  record  of  their  hardships  is  more  than  we  can 
believe  possible  for  man  to  endure,  but  through 
Christ  who  strengthened  them  great  things  were  ac- 
complished. A  chapter  in  the  "  Romance  of  Mis- 
sions" sums  up  the  achievements  of  these  heroic 
servants  as  follows, — "  Through  all  his  years  of- 
toil  and  peril,  often  with  no  better  study  than  a 
room  which  served  at  the  same  time  for  kitchen, 
bedroom  and  nursery,  and  no  better  desk  than  the 
lid  of  a  meal  barrel,  he  had  carried  on  laborious 
researches  into  the  language  of  the  Indians,  which 
resulted  at  last  in  his  Dakota  Grammar  and  Dakota 
Dictionary  and  brought  him  the  well  earned  degrees 
of  D.D.  and  LL.D.  But  his  highest  honours  were 

89 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

written  not  in  the  records  of  universities,  but  in  the 
changed  lives  of  the  Dakota  people.  In  his  old 
age  looking  back  over  forty  years  of  service,  he 
could  trace  a  wonderful  change  between  "  then  and 
now." 

"  In  1837,  when  he  came  to  the  far  West,  he  was 
surrounded  by  the  whole  Sioux  nation  in  a  life  of 
ignorance  and  barbarism.  In  1877,  the  majority 
of  the  Sioux  had  become  both  civilized  and  chris- 
tianized. Then,  in  the  gloaming  his  young  wife 
and  he  had  seen  the  dusky  forms  of  Indian  warriors 
flitting  past  on  their  errand  of  blood.  Now,  the 
same  race  was  represented  not  only  by  sincere  be- 
lievers, but  by  native  pastors  in  churches  and  native 
teachers  in  the  schools.  On  the  same  prairies 
where  the  war  whoop  of  the  savage  had  once  been 
the  most  familiar  sound,  the  voice  of  praise  and 
prayer  might  be  heard  to  rise  with  each  returning 
Day  of  Rest,  from  Indian  cabins,  as  well  as  Indian 
sanctuaries." 

What  great  things  the  Lord  hath  wrought  in 
these  seventy  years?  Now,  the  territory,  once 
scenes  of  tribal  war  and  bloodshed,  of  squalor  and 
cruelty,  has  become  the  centre  of  the  busy  religious 
and  commercial  life  of  the  Northwest. 

This  is  only  one  record  of  many  not  yet  written 
and  perhaps  never  will  be  written,  of  those  who 
have  carried  the  banner  of  the  Cross  with  the  tide 
of  advancing  civilization  through  the  years,  until 

9° 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

now  the  high  tide  has  swept  over  the  Rockies  and 
Cascades,  establishing  all  along  the  pathway,  not 
only  civilization,  but  christianization  of  its  people. 
Among  missionary  lives  which  are  of  more  recent 
date,  there  are  many  not  less  thrilling  than  the  inci- 
dents already  cited.  Such  as  that  of  Dr.  Sheldon 
Jackson,  of  whom  Dr.  Charles  L.  Thompson  said, 
"  Not  only  the  Apostle  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
but  also  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  where  he  began 
his  westward  march  fifty  years  ago,  and  of  Alaska, 
to  whose  regeneration  his  latest  labours  were  given. 
His  fame  is  not  that  he  was  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation for  Alaska,  nor  that  he  was  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly.  But  only  this  —  he  was  a 
home  missionary,  of  such  enthusiasm  and  consecra- 
tion, that  hundreds  of  churches  are  his  monuments. 
Towns  and  territories  around  us  had  not  been  what 
they  are,  but  for  the  labours  of  this  man  of  God. 
The  Home  Board  desires  to  lay  on  that  new  grave 
this  leaf  of  loving  appreciation  of  the  dauntless 
courage,  the  unselfish  devotion  and  statesmanlike 
vision  of  him  who  for  half  a  century  bore  its  com- 
mission, and  in  every  throb  of  his  great  heart  hon- 
oured its  service." 

The  name  of  Thomas  C.  Kirk  wood,  who  for 
twenty-five  years  was  Sy nodical  Superintendent  of 
Missions  in  Colorado,  deserves  a  place  in  the  list 
of  those  loyal  servants  who  gave  their  all  to  the 
cause  they  loved.  It  will  take  more  than  one  gen- 

9* 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

eration  to  realize  the  blessings  his  life  has  trans- 
mitted to  future  generations.  Dr.  Timothy  Hill 
of  the  Southwest,  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Wishard  of  Utah 
and  Idaho,  Dr.  A.  K.  Baird  of  Montana,  who  still 
live  to  cheer  others  on  whom  their  mantles  have 
fallen,  are  worthy  of  all  honour  for  the  part  they 
have  acted  along  the  frontier  lines. 

There  are  others  as  worthy  of  mention,  though 
not  as  conspicuous  in  the  records  of  the  church, 
who  deserve  crowns  of  honour  for  what  they  have 
done  and  are  still  doing  for  the  upbuilding  of  Chris- 
tian civilization  in  these  growing  empires  of  the 
West.  Some  have  laid  down  their  lives,  a  sacrifice 
to  the  cause  they  loved,  and  now  wear  the  martyr's 
crown.  "  Theirs  was  no  painted  sea  or  painted 
desert."  They  faced  the  real  thing  in  hardship. 
"  They  undertook  the  real  thing  in  enterprise.  They 
illustrated  the  real  thing  in  heroic  unselfishness  and 
noble  striving  for  a  larger  humanity.  The  pioneer 
is  a  spirit  courageous,  who  see  visions  and  dream 
dreams.  Thirst  for  the  horizon  is  the  measure  of 
his  appetite.  The  setting  sun  is  not  too  far  away 
to  be  included  in  his  picture;  nor  is  heaven  so  near 
as  to  cut  the  nerve  of  his  effort.  He  sees  neither 
hardship  nor  failure.  He  has  no  kinship  with  the 
pessimist  or  the  ascetic.  To  him  the  world  is  good 
enough  to  live  in  —  if  he  lives  right;  and  he  falters 
not  at  the  attempt  to  make  it  better.  To  him  Op- 
portunity beckons  with  a  perpetual  waving ;  and  for 

92 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

him  the  unattained  is  a  perfect  Eldorado.  The  trail 
of  the  larger  future  is  no  Via  Doloroso.  He  is  a 
man  with  a  hope  that  falters  not,  and  with  a  song 
that  cheers  the  human  race.  It  is  by  way  of  the 
trail  that  he  blazes  that  '  the  world  sweeps  into  the 
broader  day/  Writing  little  history,  he  makes  all 
history  throb  with  human  interest.  In  the  wake 
of  his  prairie  schooner  come  the  winged  chariots 
and  palaces  of  modern  travellers.  By  the  side  of 
his  smouldering  camp-fires  and  overshadowing  tents, 
rise  the  splendid  habitations  of  men  and  their  in- 
dustries; their  schools  and  libraries;  their  factories 
and  furnaces;  their  temples  and  shrines,  in  whose 
sacred  walls  the  civilization  that  is  to  be,  catches  its 
inspiration  from  the  God  who  is.  Their  visions 
were  not  only  of  this  life,  but  of  that  which  is  to 
come.  As  the  altars  of  faithful  Abraham  were 
strewn  from  one  end  of  the  land  of  Promise  to  the 
other,  so  the  altars  of  Godly  men  and  women  formed 
the  corner-stones  of  our  later  civilization  and  reli- 
gion. 

"  These  flames,  lighted  afar,  were  the  beacons  of 
prodigal  feet,  that  were  far  from  home  and  peace. 
Great  battlefields  we  have  not  —  the  fields  ploughed 
with  shot  and  shell  and  moistened  with  human  life- 
blood.  Ours  is  a  history  of  days,  still  easily  within 
the  memory  of  our  generation,  of  states  cradled  in 
hearts  that  are  still  pulsing  with  vigour;  states 
whose  stars  in  their  rising  are  but  the  reflected  glory 

93 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

of  the  lives  that  gave  them  birth.  The  Nation  lays 
grave  responsibility  upon  the  leaders  of  its  armies. 
But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  man  who,  with  holy 
egotism,  assumed  just  as  grave  responsibilities  for 
God  and  Home  and  Native  Land  ?  The  heart  must 
speak  its  own  tribute,  for  human  words  fail.  Like 
our  sturdy  Scot  in  the  struggle  for  American  In- 
dependence, they  risked  their  lives,  their  fortunes, 
and  their  sacred  honour.  We  cannot  know  the 
cost  they  paid ;  but  we  can  sacredly  cherish  the  boon 
they  bought,  and  hand  it  down  with  rich  increase, 
to  the  coming  generations  of  the  mountains,  the  Na- 
tion and  the  world  like  the  soldiers  of  the  free 
Republic,  many  have  gone  to  their  rest  in  unknown 
graves.  But  thank  God,  they  did  not  fight  in  vain. 
Their  struggles  and  their  tears,  their  prayers  and 
their  devotion,  are  written  indelibly  on  the  full 
pages  of  American  progress,  and  in  God's  own  book 
of  remembrances/'  (Dr.  R.  M.  Donaldson.) 

The  Rev.  Henry  C.  McCook,  D.D.,  after  men- 
tioning some  of  our  great  and  devoted  missionaries, 
says,  "  These  are  some  of  the  men  who  framed  the 
policy  of  imperial  missionary  extension,  which  has 
spread  our  great  church,  with  all  its  beneficent  acts 
and  institutions,  from  the  Atlantic  slope  to  the 
Pacific  Coast.  Having  sublime  trust  in  God  and  in 
the  future,  they  threw  down  the  gauntlet  to  the 
seemingly  impossible  and  challenged  the  religious 
chaos  of  a  continent  and  claimed  it  for  God.  Since 

94 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

the  times  when  the  Lord's  apostles  sallied  forth,  a 
mere  squad  without  money,  or  rank,  or  social 
power,  to  evangelize  a  hostile  world,  there  have 
been  few  acts  of  sublimer  faith  or  loftier  Chris- 
tian heroism." 

The  Rev.  William  Bryan,  D.D.,  has  also  written 
his  appreciation  of  the  home  missionary,  saying 
"If  half  as  much  testimony  was  given  to  the  hero- 
ism of  the  home  missionary,  as  is  given  to  the  hero- 
ism of  the  foreign  missionary,  an  excellent  library 
might  be  published.  People  say  in  a  general  way 
that  the  home  missionary  does  not  have  to  live 
among  the  heathen.  How  do  they  know?  Have 
they  ever  tried  it?  The  heathen  do  not  all  live  in 
Asia  and  Africa  and  the  isles  of  the  sea.  There  is 
plenty  of  favourable  soil  in  both  Europe  and  Ameri- 
ca for  cultivating  varieties  of  heathenism;  and  the 
crop  is  very  large.  It  grows  midst  winter  frosts 
and  summer  droughts.  Any  community  that  ig- 
nores God,  is  heathen;  and  the  intentional  heathen 
is  several  shades  darker  than  his  unintentional  yel- 
low or  black  brother.  Think  of  a  land,  with  the 
heritage  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  surrendering  its 
heritage  for  mere  sordidness.  That  is  heathenism, 
and  unpardonable  heathenism  at  that.  Whether 
that  community  is  in  Maine,  or  California,  in  Mon- 
tana or  Florida,  it  matters  not ;  it  is  heathendom  if 
it  votes  God  out  of  life.  A  missionary  who  goes 
to  such  people  needs  the  grace  of  God  fully  as  much 

95 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

as  does  the  man  who  goes  to  China,  or  to  Africa, 
as  an  embassador  for  the  Master.  In  fact  there  is 
a  great  deal  more  of  the  poetry  of  life  in  going  to 
China  than  to  any  part  of  a  nominally  Christian 
land  where  religion  has  been  declared  to  be  a  need- 
less luxury. 

"  Then  there  is  another  phase  of  heroism  about  the 
genuine  home  missionary,  that  is  one  who  travels 
and  preaches  over  a  big,  needy  territory,  he  is  as 
lonely  as  most  of  our  foreign  missionaries.  Prob- 
ably he  has  counted  the  cost,  and  is  happy  in  his 
work;  but  the  isolation  is  no  less  real.  He  volun- 
tarily devotes  his  energies  and  abilities  to  trying  to 
bring  men  into  personal  relationship  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Plans  for  study  are  abandoned  in 
the  pressure  of  a  life  largely  made  up  of  journey- 
ings  over  prairie  or  mountain  side.  He  never  be- 
fore realized  what  the  Master's  '  Follow  me ' 
meant.  He  is  very  likely  quite  unconscious  that  he 
is  doing  anything  heroic.  His  reward  will  not 
come  in  this  life.  But  it  will  come  in  God's  way 
and  time/' 

If  Thomas  Carlyle  were  living,  he  might  add  a 
new  chapter  to  his  "  Hero  Worship,"  and  if  the 
pulpit  ever  wears  out  by  much  preaching  on  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews,  a  new  roll  of  heroes 
may  be  found  in  the  record  of  our  home  mission- 
aries. Nor  is  there  any  volume  on  chivalry  or 
knight  errantry  in  our  libraries  that  will  surpass 

96 


HEROISM  IN  HOME  MISSIONS 

these  stones  of  devotion  on  the  part  of  home  mis- 
sionaries. In  his  life,  heroism  is  a  living,  vital 
principle  and  force.  For  the  most  part  they  live 
in  obscurity  and  sad  to  say  in  straitened  circum- 
stances as  to  this  world's  goods.  There  are  no 
monuments  erected  to  their  memory,  nor  do  they 
need  any  beyond  those  that  now  stand  to  their 
honour. 

The  countless  churches,  the  schools  and  colleges, 
the  redeemed  communities,  these  are  their  monu- 
ments, these  the  symbols  of  their  reward. 


97 


CHAPTER  V 
EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

THE    word    "  evangelism "    has   become    a 
very   familiar  term  in  our  religious  vo- 
cabulary the  last  few  years.     It  has  been 
written  in  both  small  and  big  letters;  it  has  been 
the  prologue  and  the  epilogue  for  many  religious 
articles;  it  has  been  the  salutatory  and  valedictory 
of  many  public  discourses,  and  the  climax  of  many 
spiritual   orations.     It  is  the   fashionable  modern 
substitute  for  the  word  revival  as  used  in  the  days 
of  Wesley,  Whitfield  and  Finney. 

But  when  present  day  evangelism  is  compared 
with  that  of  Peter  and  Paul,  there  are  only  a  few 
things  in  common.  Apostolic  evangelism  had  for 
its  field  missionary  territory.  The  professional 
evangelist  of  to-day,  however,  could  not  be  per- 
suaded by  the  love  of  Christ  to  go  elsewhere  than 
to  churches  well  organized,  where  there  are  set- 
tled pastors  to  make  all  conditions  ready  for  his 
convenience,  and  where  a  large  number  of  Chris- 
tian people  will  pledge  their  prayers  weeks  ahead 

98 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

for  his  success.  There  must  be  engaged  for  his 
comfort  the  best  accommodations  in  the  best  hotel 
with  bathroom  attachment.  A  certain  amount  of 
money  must  be  raised  to  meet  all  expenses  before 
his  meetings  begin,  ostensibly  that  no  material 
things  interfere  with  the  spiritual  flow  when  the 
fountains  of  the  great  deep  are  once  opened.  Some 
unsanctified  minds  may  be  uncharitable  enough  to 
suggest  that  the  real  reason  is,  that  the  way  may 
be  opened  for  a  big  freewill  offering  later  when 
enthusiasm  is  at  its  highest.  This  latter  sugges- 
tion seems  to  have  ground  for  its  conclusion  when 
some  of  the  questions  asked  by  the  modern  evangel- 
ist are  made  the  basis  of  judgment. 

It  is  a  little  surprising  how  different  evangelists 
put  practically  the  same  questions  in  the  preliminary 
arrangements  for  their  coming.  How  big  is  your 
city?  What  is  the  membership  of  the  churches? 
Has  there  been  a  recent  revival?  Can  you  secure 
a  good  financial  committee?  Are  all  the  churches 
united?  etc.  Missionary  territory  cannot  answer 
any  of  these  questions  in  the  affirmative.  The  an- 
swers touching  the  money  questions  will  be  any- 
thing but  encouraging.  The  professional  evangelist 
has  no  call  from  the  Lord  to  other  fields  than  those 
of  big  population  and  large  church  membership, 
sufficiently  large  to  insure  big  congregations,  big 
contributions  and  many  other  big  things  too  nu- 
merous to  mention. 

99 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

On  strictly  missionary  territory  there  are  no 
organized  churches  with  large  membership,  fre- 
quently no  pastors,  no  finance  committee,  no  pray- 
ing bands  of  Christians  to  prepare  the  way. 
Modern  Philips  are  not  called  to  the  wilderness  to 
save  an  occasional  Ethiopian.  The  preacher  who 
goes  out  into  these  untilled  fields  has  no  heralds 
to  go  before  proclaiming  his  great  powers  in  win- 
ning souls,  no  flaming  announcements  of  the  hun- 
dreds converted  in  the  previous  cities  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  secured  his  valuable  services.  No,  the 
conditions  are  far  otherwise,  at  least  out  here  in 
the  mountain  states. 

The  home  missionary  goes  into  the  town  un- 
heralded. There  is  no  church  building.  There 
has  not  been  a  prayer-meeting  and  probably  no  re- 
ligious service  of  any  kind  for  six  months  and 
perhaps  longer.  There  is  no  meeting  place  to  be 
found  except  a  dance  hall  or  a  school  house.  He 
must  secure  his  hall  or  school  house  by  first  ob- 
taining the  consent  of  the  trustees.  He  must 
personally  visit  every  family  in  town  and  neigh- 
borhood to  announce  the  meetings,  for  there  are 
no  newspapers  to  announce  his  coming.  He  must 
kindle  his  own  fires  and  collect  some  lamps  to  light 
the  building1.  When  meeting  time  comes  he  must 
conduct  his  own  singing,  play  the  organ  if  there  hap- 
pens to  be  one;  in  other  words,  he  must  be  choir, 
organist,  preacher  and  janitor,  leading  the  music 

100 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

for  a  people  who  have  not  attended  religious  service 
for  so  long  that  even  the  most  familiar  songs  are 
unfamiliar. 

His  congregation  may  consist  of  ten,  twenty, 
thirty,  rarely  fifty  people.  Some  of  them  were 
Christians  before  they  came  West,  but  through  long 
deprivation  of  religious  service,  they  are  probably 
as  near  heathen  as  those  who  were  born  and  reared 
under  nature's  tuition.  Perhaps  there  will  be  one 
or  two  who  have  not  lost  their  faith  in  crossing  the 
Mississippi,  and  in  them  the  preacher  will  find  a 
sympathetic  response  to  his  efforts. 

His  mission  is  largely  to  deal  with  raw  material. 
Results  will  be  like  those  the  apostles  experienced 
in  the  towns  where  the  Gospel  was  first  preached, 
a  few  believe,  a  few  scoff,  and  the  majority  will  be 
indifferent. 

The  "  free  will  offering  "  probably  pays  for  the 
fuel.  In  a  good  many  cases  it  will  cover  the  hotel 
bill,  not  big  enough  to  justify  private  bath,  for  such 
a  luxury  is  not  thought  of  in  country  hotels.  Most 
of  them  however  do  furnish  undesirable  compan- 
ions, who  do  not  sleep  at  night  and  do  their  level 
best  in  keeping  the  guests  from  sleeping,  and  gen- 
erally succeed. 

Very  seldom  are  travelling  expenses  met  in  this 
kind  of  evangelistic  work.  A  few  believers  will  be 
gathered  into  the  kingdom  and  a  society  or  church 
may  be  organized  with  small  membership.  The 

101 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

day  of  small  things  is  not  to  be  despised,  for  this 
humble  beginning  may  in  a  few  years  grow  into 
a  self-supporting  church.  The  harvest  will  come 
only  after  patient  nurturing  and  fostering  infantine 
growth.  The  work  is  breaking  up  fallow  ground, 
shaping  raw  material,  digging  stones  from  the 
quarry,  cutting  timber  from  the  forest,  and  fitting 
it  all  into  a  spiritual  house  through  patient  endeav- 
our, heroic  endurance  and  steadfast  faith. 

This  is  a  typical  case  of  evangelism  on  home 
missionary  territory.  This  kind  of  work  is  made 
possible  through  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  as- 
sisting the  superintendent,  the  pastor  evangelist, 
and  an  itinerant  ministry.  It  is  a  work  that  cannot 
be  reported  by  statistics,  by  so  many  churches  or- 
ganized, or  number  of  conversions.  It  is  simply 
blazing  the  trail  for  a  future  civilization  and  a  fu- 
ture church.  This  kind  of  work  is  thought  by 
many  too  commonplace  for  a  man  of  brains  and 
scholarship,  who  is  capable  of  doing  bigger  work 
in  big  cities,  with  big  congregations,  with  all  the 
modern  equipments  furnished  to  satisfy  an  esthetic 
Christianity.  Strange  to  say,  bigness  plays  a  very 
important  part  in  the  Lord's  call  as  men  usually 
interpret  it.  There  are  nevertheless  immediate  re- 
sults that  bring  inspiring  and  encouraging  recom- 
pense. 

An  illustration  will  indicate  the  type  of  rewards 
which  follow  such  efforts.  In  a  little  village  of 

102 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

about  one  hundred  inhabitants,  the  writer  was 
called  recently  to  conduct  a  series  of  meetings. 
There  had  not  been  previous  to  this  time  any  reli- 
gious service  for  more  than  two  years.  There  was 
no  organized  church.  Meetings  were  held  for  a 
week  without  any  visible  results.  The  attendance 
was  small  and  interest  less.  A  spirit  of  general  in- 
difference prevailed  in  the  community.  At  the 
closing  meeting,  however,  there  was  one  remarkable 
conversion.  I  was  making  a  last  plea  for  confes- 
sion of  Christ,  when  to  my  surprise,  a  roughly 
dressed  young  man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age 
came  forward  and  announced  his  desire  to  be  a 
Christian.  He  had  been  a  cow-puncher  for  several 
years.  He  had  a  wife  and  three  small  children. 
They  were  reduced  to  a  state  of  poverty  and  want 
through  the  husband's  intemperate  habits.  His 
wages,  which  he  earned  in  the  interval  of  his  peri- 
odical debauches,  were  wasted  at  the  bar  or  the 
gambling  table.  These  generally  occurred  after 
each  pay  day.  After  prayer  and  conversation  with 
him,  he  made  a  public  confession  of  his  sins  and 
faith  in  Christ,  promising  henceforth  to  lead  a  new 
life.  He  sat  down  by  the  table  and  signed  a  tem- 
perance pledge.  While  doing  so  his  wife  came  for- 
ward, with  a  babe  in  her  arms.  She  placed  the 
sleeping  child  in  my  arms  and  threw  hers  around 
her  husband's  neck  and  both  wept  tears  of  joy. 
There  was  scarcely  a  dry  eye  in  the  house,  so  im- 

103 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

pressive  was  the  scene.  This  was  the  only 
conversion  I  knew  of  during  that  series  of  meet- 
ings. Afterwards  I  baptised  the  whole  family, 
following  the  custom  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  the 
Philippian  jailer  was  converted  "  he  and  his  house- 
hold were  baptised  the  same  hour  of  the  night." 
Six  months  later  I  spent  a  Sabbath  in  this  same 
town,  when  I  received  and  baptised  another  family 
of  eight,  and  with  this  small  beginning  organized 
a  church  of  the  few  believers  in  that  town,  the  cow- 
puncher  and  his  family  being  among  the  number. 
Two  years  later  there  were  thirty-eight  members 
enrolled  and  three  years  later  it  was  my  pleasure 
to  assist  in  the  dedication  of  a  new  church  building 
costing  $4,000,  and  paid  for  mostly  by  the  people 
of  that  town  and  neighbourhood.  It  is  to  this  day 
the  only  church  within  one  hundred  miles  east,  sixty- 
six  miles  south  and  fifteen  miles  in  other  directions. 
There  is  also  a  flourishing  Sabbath  school  and  the 
whole  community  has  been  elevated  morally;  there 
is  a  marked  change  for  the  better  among  the  citi- 
zens, who  were  at  first  absolutely  indifferent,  if  not 
antagonistic  to  the  church.  One  of  the  two  elders 
had  been  a  pronounced  unbeliever  before  his  con- 
version, but  is  now  a  devoted  servant  of  the  Master 
he  once  ridiculed.  Both  by  practice  and  precept  he 
is  giving  testimony  in  that  community  to  the  saving 
power  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour. 

JVhen  I  made  my  monthly  report  to  the  Board 
104 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

of  Home  Missions,  after  the  first  series  of  meet- 
ings in  that  town,  I  reported  only  one  conversion. 
How  small  and  insignificant  the  results  seemed  on 
reading  that  report,  yet  as  after  fruits  showed  and 
as  seen  in  the  light  of  after  years,  how  far  reaching 
were  those  efforts  at  first  so  manifestly  barren  in 
results.  The  harvest  to  be  gathered  in  future 
years  cannot  be  measured;  God  only  knows.  But 
leaving  out  of  account  after  fruits,  the  one  conver- 
sion of  a  cow-puncher  was  worth  all  the  effort 
put  forth  and  a  sufficient  reward  in  itself  beyond 
any  possible  compensation  in  dollars  and  cents. 
The  conversion  of  such  a  man,  his  restoration  to 
his  family,  as  a  new  husband  and  father,  saved  from 
a  life  of  dissipation,  signifies  a  good  deal  more  than 
the  reception  into  the  church  of  children  of  reli- 
gious homes,  who  have  been  counted  as  born  in 
Zion,  whose  lives  have  never  been  blighted  by  ex- 
cessive sin,  and  whose  public  confession  is  little 
more  than  a  formal  assent  to  the  baptismal  vows 
of  their  parents. 

It  is  not  always  the  number  of  converts  as 
counted  by  newspaper  reports  in  measuring  the 
number  of  converts  in  big  revival  meetings,  that 
bring  forth  the  sweetest  music  from  the  angelic 
choir  where  we  are  told  there  is  rejoicing  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth  and  turneth  from  his  evil 
ways.  It  is  the  prodigal's  return  for  whom  the 
feast  is  prepared  in  the  Father's  house,  because  he 

105 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

was  dead,  and  is  alive.  In  one  sense  any  saved 
soul  is  worth  just  as  much  as  another,  but  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  some  are  worth  more  than 
others,  because  of  what  they  are  saved  from,  and 
what  they  are  saved  for  in  the  Master's  service. 

The  secret  of  apostolic  success  in  evangelism 
was  the  love  of  Christ  (not  the  love  of  money)  con- 
straining them.  The  sensational  methods  of  some 
evangelists  are  condoned  by  pointing  to  the  num- 
ber of  conversions  reported,  with  childlike  trust  in 
the  accuracy  of  press  agents'  reports.  Let  us  not 
think  of  pronouncing  wholesale  condemnation  on 
all  modern  evangelists  who  are  professionally  such, 
for  many  of  them  are  highly  to  be  commended  as 
consecrated  workers  and  helpers  in  saving  the  lost 
and  the  outcast  of  society,  whom  ordinary  meth- 
ods fail  to  reach.  But  I  am  not  hasty  in  my  judg- 
ment, nor  do  I  deem  myself  uncharitable  in 
affirming  that  newspaper  reports  do  not  always  tally 
with  the  record  of  the  recording  angel  who  writes 
the  names  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life;  however 
that  may  be,  it  should  be  plain  enough,  that  no  one 
is  justified  in  prostituting  the  sacred  work  of  evan- 
gelism to  vaudeville  methods,  whatever  the  re- 
ported results  may  be. 

The  true  language  of  evangelism  must  ever  be 
the  language  of  love,  if  it  is  to  bear  the  test  of 
divine  approval.  The  Holy  Spirit,  when  moving 
in  the  hearts  of  men,  produces  a  sensation,  now  as 

106 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

well  as  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  but  the  symbol  of 
His  power  was  from  above,  not  from  below. 
While  I  firmly  believe  in  producing  religious  sensa- 
tions, the  methods  employed  by  some  are,  to  say 
the  least,  questionable. 

The  important  thing  as  indicated  by  our  Lord 
in  His  question  to  Peter,  when  giving  him  his 
great  commission,  was,  "Lovest  thou  Me?"  This 
He  taught  as  the  great  essential  for  success  in  a 
loyal  and  faithful  witness  of  the  Gospel.  It  was 
not  a  question  of  theology,  of  science,  nor  of  the 
head,  but  one  of  the  heart.  Christ's  own  ministry, 
as  we  all  know,  was  a  ministry  of  love.  Love  was 
the  point  of  contact  between  Christ  and  His  dis- 
ciples two  thousand  years  ago,  and  it  has  been  ever 
since  and  will  continue  to  be  till  the  end  of  time. 
Christ  said,  "If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will  keep  My  com- 
mandments." There  were  no  needs  so  great,  no 
suffering  so  intense,  no  cry  so  inaudible,  but  He 
supplied,  relieved  and  heard.  Christ  had  the  gift 
of  a  perennial  spring,  always  giving  out,  but  in- 
capable of  exhaustion.  "  My  life  I  give  unto 
you." 

Paul  uttered  one  of  the  most  divine  prayers 
ever  sent  to  the  throne  of  grace,  when  he  cried  out 
in  the  longing  of  his  soul's  desire,  saying,  "  That 
I  may  know  Him,  and  the  power  of  His  resurrec- 
tion and  the  fellowship  of  His  suffering."  He  was 
ready  to  share  the  fellowship  of  His  suffering  to 

107 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

share  His  glory.  Belief  is  more  than  notional,  it 
is  actional.  It  is  more  than  creedal,  it  is  vital. 
What  does  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gains  a  telescope 
and  lose  his  sight;  or  what  does  it  profit  a  man, to 
have  faith  if  not  moved  with  compassion  for  the 
lost.  Herein  is  the  substance  of  Christian  living 
and  the  evidence  of  Christian  faith.  "  By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  It  is  doing,  not  say- 
ing, or  listening,  or  looking,  but  being  moved  with 
compassion  to  beneficent  action. 

At  West  Point,  some  one  asked.  "What  is 
Christianity  ?  "  The  answer  was,  "  Oscar  West- 
over."  When  we  can  so  live  our  daily  life  so  near 
like  Christ,  that  we  may  define  Christianity,  then  we 
shall  have  reached  the  ideal  life. 

Christ,  in  all  His  preaching  made  the  secret  of 
righteousness,  the  secret  of  love.  For  this  there 
can  be  no  substitute.  This  makes  His  Gospel  a  re- 
ligion that  reaches  down  to  earth  and  brings  it  into 
practical  relation  to  the  needs  of  this  mortal  life. 
It  is  not  so  ethereal  as  to  be  out  of  reach,  nor  so 
incomprehensible  as  to  be  impractical. 

In  the  matchless  poem  of  "  Building  the  Ship," 
our  own  poet  has  beautifully  expressed  heart  power 
in  action,  saying, 

"Ah:  how  skillful  grows  the  hand, 
That  obeyeth  love's  command ; 
'Tis  the  heart  and  not  the  head, 
That  to   the  highest  doth   attain. 
108 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

And  he  who  obeyeth  love's  behest, 
Far  excelleth  all  the  rest." 

Virgil's  Ascestes  aimed  at  the  stars,  and  though 
he  had  strength  and  skill,  the  shot  was  thrown 
away.  His  arrow  was  followed  by  a  track  of  daz- 
zling radiance,  but  it  struck  nothing,  failing  to 
reach  the  mark.  "  If  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of 
men  and  of  angels,  but  have  not  love,  I  am  become 
sounding  brass,  or  a  clanging  cymbal." 

Macaulay,  in  his  essay  describing  ancient  philoso- 
phies as  impracticable  except  for  a  few  select 
scholars,  men  of  brains  and  leisure,  compares  it 
with  Bacon's  philosophy,  which  brought  science 
down  to  common  people,  into  the  workshop,  and  the 
ordinary  things  of  life,  where  the  vast  majority  of 
mankind  live,  and  affirms  that  "an  acre  of  earth 
is  worth  more  than  an  empire  in  Utopia."  The 
smallest  actual  good  being  better  than  the  most 
magnificent  promises  of  impossibilities. 

It  is  the  practical  feature  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
that  has  made  it  the  bond  of  charity,  the  curb  of 
evil  passions,  the  consolation  of  the  wretched,  the 
support  of  the  timid,  and  the  hope  of  the  dying. 
It  teaches  a  love  that  dulls  defects  in  its  object. 
Christ  loved  Peter  for  his  virtues  and  forgot  his 
defects  in  his  vision  of  future  good.  If,  in  any 
place  this  spirit  of  evangelism  is  needed,  it  certainly 
is  in  these  remote  places  of  the  West,  where  Chris- 
tian service  is  measured  by  its  worth,  and  not  by 

109 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

the  theology  preached  or  the  garb  of  the  minister. 
Here  above  all  other  places  men  are  quick  to  rec- 
ognize priestly  ism,  and  just  as  ready  to  appreciate 
a  man  for  his  virtues.  Here,  the  mourners  — 
bench  style  of  religion  is  not  popular  or  effective 
—  are  a  matter-of-fact  people,  who  do  not  try 
to  cover  their  faults,  and  want  their  preacher  to 
strike  out  straight  from  the  shoulder,  to  speak  the 
truth  without  equivocation,  evasion  or  apology. 
They  detect  shams  as  quickly  as  a  trout  an  artificial 
fly.  When  they  are  moved  to  confession  it  is  with 
boldness  and  straight- forwardness  that  guarantees 
sincerity. 

The  sensational  revivalist  will  be  far  more  suc- 
cessful in  an  eastern  city,  than  in  one  of  these  re- 
mote towns  along  the  foothills  of  the  Rockies. 
The  theory  that  justifies  questionable  methods,  be- 
cause of  immediate  and  visible  results,  will  not 
stand  the  test  among  these  people.  Emotionalism 
is  not  despised,  but  it  is  not  valued  very  highly  as 
a  spiritual  asset.  The  Apostolic  Church  only  wit- 
nessed one  Pentecost.  After  that,  Peter  and  Paul 
had  meagre  results  to  report,  except  persecutions 
and  opposition,  wherever  they  went.  Yet  some  be- 
lieved in  almost  every  city.  They  had  immediate 
fruit  in  a  few  converts.  So  has  the  evangelist  in 
these  remote  places  and  small  towns  in  the  West. 
The  invisible  results  count  for  more,  perhaps,  than 

no 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

the  number  of  converts.  The  apostles  projected 
their  influence  into  the  centuries.  The  more  spir- 
itual a  man's  efforts,  the  more  truly  is  he  con- 
strained by  the  love  of  Christ,  the  more  he  is  filled 
with  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  less  he  will  rely  on  ap- 
parent and  immediate  results  as  an  essential  sign 
of  the  divine  approval,  or  make  a  display  of  nu- 
merical success  an  evidence  of  his  being  the  servant 
of  God. 

These  truths  need  to  be  emphasized  for  the  en- 
couragement of  the  evangelist  on  home  missionary 
territory,  and  to  inspire  confidence  in  contributors 
to  home  missions.  The  pastor-evangelist  is  in  dan- 
ger of  being  unduly  cast  down  when  results  show 
so  small,  in  comparison  with  the  widely  advertised 
triumphs  of  evangelists  in  large  cities.  The  con- 
tributor on  the  other  hand,  when  he  reads  of  meagre 
effects  and  small  ingatherings  from  evangelism  on 
home  missionary  territory,  and  compares  these  with 
the  large  number  of  conversions  reported  from  spe- 
cial evangelistic  endeavour  in  the  cities,  may  be 
tempted  to  conclude  that  the  latter  sort  of  work  is 
more  worthy  of  his  benevolence. 

Nevertheless,  the  pastor-evangelist  on  home  mis- 
sionary territory  has  real  reward  in  a  proportion- 
ate number  of  conversions,  and  especially  in  the 
inspiring  thought  that  he  is  blazing  the  trail  for 
the  future  triumph  of  the  church  of  God  in  a  wil- 

iii 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

derness  that  is  one  day  to  blossom  as  the  rose,  and 
bear  fruitage  in  bringing  the  nation  under  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Cross. 

The  Rev.  S.  Parker  Cadman  said  in  a  recent  pub- 
lic address  that  "  The  missionary  fields  cannot  be 
conquered  by  the  unaided  teacher.  The  missionary 
must  have  more  than  a  system  of  truth,  more  than 
a  program,  more  than  a  reasonable  discourse.  The 
life  which  was  given  for  the  life  of  men,  the  di- 
vinest  gift  of  all,  is  alone  sufficient  for  this  regen- 
eration." Before  we  can  dismiss  the  black  apathy 
which  rests  on  so  many  professedly  Christian  com- 
munities, before  we  can  dominate  the  social  struc- 
ture in  righteousness  and  justice,  the  church  must 
be  raised  nearer  to  the  standard  of  New  Testament 
efficiency,  which  rested  upon  the  Divinity  and  per- 
suasive Mediatorship  of  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 
It  embraces  the  height  of  good,  the  depth  of  love, 
the  breadth  of  sympathy,  and  the  width  of  catholic- 
ity. When  messengers  of  the  cross  are  imbued 
with  such  a  spirit,  "  enthusiasm  cannot  be  soured, 
nor  courage  diminished." 

The  culture  of  the  missionary  must  have  the 
"  passion-flower  of  Jesus  Christ "  as  the  para- 
mount trait.  Technicalities,  niceties,  knowledge 
remote  and  knowledge  general,  must  be  appropri- 
ated and  made  dynamic  in  this  life  and  death  con- 
flict. 

112 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

Quoting  again  from  the  same  address,  "Let  us 
redeem  our  creeds  at  the  front,  and  prove  the  weld- 
ing of  our  weapons  and  their  tempered  blades  upon 
every  evil  way,  darkness  and  superstition  that  af- 
flicts humanity." 

From  the  above  suggestions,  the  following  con- 
clusions are  emphasized. 

First,  That  the  Church  has  a  serious  problem  to 
solve  in  the  evangelization  of  remote  places  and 
isolated  communities.  The  country  church  must 
not  be  thought  of  as  obsolete.  Special  evangelistic 
efforts  in  large  cities  are  essential.  Out  of  the 
great  centres  of  congested  and  mixed  population, 
go  influences,  potent  and  far-reaching,  in  purifying 
or  poisoning  the  atmosphere  in  remote  sections  of 
the  country  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
influential  personalities  that  are  most  prominent  in 
our  great  cities,  were  born  in  the  country.  As 
the  soil  is  the  source  of  all  wealth,  so  from  the 
healthful  exercise,  pure  ozone,  educational  forces 
and  social  relations  of  country  life,  are  the  impulses 
and  vigorous  virtues  nurtured,  which  attain  great  re- 
sults in  business  and  professional  careers  in  the 
larger  spheres  of  human  activity  and  usefulness. 
The  city  bred  people  sit  in  pews  and  listen  to  the 
preaching  of  the  divine  who  was  in  early  life  a 
country  lad.  The  chairs  of  instruction  in  our  uni- 
versities, the  seats  of  judgment  in  our  highest 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

courts,  are  occupied  mostly  by  men  who  have  learned 
their  first  lessons  of  achievement  in  village  and  coun- 
try. 

Hence  the  importance  of  the  rural  church.  Here 
in  the  West,  the  difficulty  of  the  problem  is  in- 
creased on  account  of  the  sparsely  settled  communi- 
ties. Farms  are  big  and  homes  widely  separated, 
so  that  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles,  it  is  difficult 
to  gather  a  sufficient  number  to  sustain  Sunday- 
schools  and  church  organizations. 

Being  chairman  of  Committee  on  Survey  of  Re- 
ligious Conditions  —  Strategic  Western  States,  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  and 
Federation  of  Evangelical  Churches,  reports  are 
already  coming  in  from  different  parts  of  the  state. 
These  reports  reveal  many  large  districts  with 
small  population  and  few  children,  without  any 
Sunday-school  or  church  organization.  The  follow- 
ing selections  are  not  made  from  extreme  or  un- 
common cases: 

SCHOOL  DISTRICT        SQ.  MILES  POPULATION  CHILDREN 
Report   No.   I...        20                      77  26 

Report   No.  2...        56  80  19 

Report  No.  3...        20  100  25 

Report  No.  4...        18  125  43 

These  are  not  rare  but  common  examples.  The 
final  census  and  summing  up  of  results  will  reveal 
hundreds  of  school  districts  similar  to  the  above. 
These  are  cited  to  show  the  difficulty  in  reaching 

114 


EVANGELIZING  THE  REMOTE  PLACES 

such  large  districts  so  sparsely  settled,  with 
adequate  Gospel  privileges.  None  of  the  above 
mentioned  have  either  Sabbath-school  or  church 
organization. 

It  increases  the  difficulty  of  the  missionary,  who 
must  necessarily  have  several  districts  under  his 
charge,  to  centralize  effort.  As  population  increases 
and  farm  land  becomes  more  valuable,  these  hin- 
drances will  diminish  and  rural  evangelization  will 
become  less  expensive  and  more  efficient. 

Second.  There  should  be  a  higher  conception 
of  the  mission  of  the  local  church;  for  after  all 
that  may  be  said  in  behalf  of  special  evangelistic 
effort,  the  local  church  must  realize  its  own  respon- 
sibility in  the  evangelization  of  its  own  vicinity.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  many  churches,  influenced  no 
doubt  by  the  evangelistic  tendencies  of  the  times, 
depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  professional  evan- 
gelist and  general  movements  for  the  winning  of 
souls,  rather  than  upon  the  regular  work  of  the 
settled  minister  and  the  ordinary  services  of  conse- 
crated church  members.  Under  such  prevailing 
sentiment,  church  work  becomes  spasmodic  and  the 
preaching  of  the  settled  minister  educational,  in- 
stead of  evangelistic. 

Third.  A  more  evangelistic  ministry  is  greatly 
needed.  This  means  men,  serving  the  Lord  with 
the  whole  heart,  impressed  with  the  infinite  prac- 
tical reach  of  their  work,  their  responsibility  as 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

messengers  of  the  truth  which  is  the  saving  power 
of  men  being  lost.  In  the  West,  perhaps  the  su- 
preme temptation  on  the  part  of  country  ministers, 
is  to  become  a  homesteader,  under  the  inducement 
that  by  this  means  he  can  obtain  a  worldly  posses- 
sion with  so  little  effort  as  not  to  interfere  with  his 
duties  as  a  minister.  Results  generally  prove  the 
contrary.  Only  he  attains  the  expected  and  desir- 
able efficiency  who  gives  his  time,  talent  and  energy 
to  his  divine  calling. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  supreme  suggestion  of  the 
whole  subject.  Any  man  called  of  God  to  the 
ministry  should  realize  that  such  a  responsible  and 
so  divine  a  calling  demands  all  the  energy  and  tal- 
ents with  which  he  is  entrusted.  Men  devoted  to 
the  Master's  cause,  which  means  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  the  people,  are  honoured  as  such  and  achieve 
success  in  winning  souls. 


116 


CHAPTER  VI 
ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  O VERCHURCHED  ? 

AN  eastern  man  in  his  hurried  trip  on  a  trans- 
continental railroad,  looked  out  through 
the  window  of  his  palace  car,  and  saw  a 
number  of  church  buildings  in  a  small  town.  He 
at  once  made  use  of  this  superficial  knowledge  and 
hasty  conclusion,  by  writing  an  article  for  one  of 
his  church  papers,  declaring  that  he  had  been  on  a 
tour  through  the  West,  and  everywhere  he  saw 
too  many  churches  for  the  population,  and  kindly 
hinted  that  the  money  contributed  by  eastern  peo- 
ple might  be  spent  to  better  advantage  at  home. 

From  his  viewpoint,  perhaps  he  was  justified  in 
his  conclusion,  but  he  was  not  justified  in  reaching 
any  conclusion  from  such  a  limited  and  narrow 
view.  Further  investigation  would  no  doubt  re- 
veal a  different  state  of  things.  Some  of  these 
churches  which  he  saw  from  his  palace  car  window, 
represented  a  foreign-speaking  people. 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  foreigners  is  largely  a  problem  of  eastern 
cities.  Out  here  on  the  western  plains  and  among 

117 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

the  mountains,  the  foreigners  are  more  generally 
evangelized  than  the  natives. 

For  example,  in  a  certain  city  of  about  twelve 
thousand  people,  the  traveller,  as  he  passes  through 
on  the  cars,  can  count  five  churches  where  the  Gos- 
pel is  preached  in  a  foreign  tongue.  About  fifteen 
per  cent,  of  that  city  are  Norwegian  and  Swede. 
They  have  five  churches,  while  the  English-speak- 
ing Protestant  churches  number  ten,  or  four-fifths 
of  the  population.  So  with  one-fifth  of  the  people, 
the  foreigners  have  half  as  many  churches. 
Where  their  money  comes  from  to  build  so  many 
churches  and  support  their  ministers,  the  writer  is 
not  prepared  to  say.  Their  membership  is  very 
small  and  composed  almost  exclusively  of  the  la- 
bouring class,  which  I  mention  not  as  any  reproach. 
I  had  a  servant  in  my  house  for  three  years,  who 
was  a  loyal  member  of  one  of  these  churches,  and 
one  of  ten,  all  servants  in  various  homes,  com- 
posing the  membership  and  support  of  said  church. 
Their  minister,  however,  had  five  other  similar 
charges  in  other  towns,  so  that  he  was  not  depend- 
ent on  this  small  membership  for  his  entire  support. 
These  churches  are  extremely  exclusive.  They  do 
not  pretend  to  do  any  work  except  among  their  own 
people.  Their  services  are  all  conducted  in  a  for- 
eign tongue.  Therefore  while  their  sphere  of  use- 
fulness is  very  limited,  they  represent  several  distinc- 
tive denominations  of  the  Lutheran  faith,  and  thus 

118 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

give  the  impression  to  the  passerby  of  overchurched 
towns.  The  building  and  supporting  of  these 
churches  are  outside  the  authority,  control  and  sup- 
port of  the  English  Protestant  population. 

The  multiplicity  of  said  churches  does  not  re- 
lieve us  of  the  responsibility  of  establishing  and 
sustaining  English-speaking  churches,  although  in 
doing  so  it  may  give  the  superficial  observer  the 
appearance  of  an  overchurched  town.  Inasmuch 
as  the  West  is  largely  dependent  on  the  East  for 
means  of  church  extension,  it  is  very  proper  to 
inquire  whether  gifts  to  Home  Missions  are  wisely 
and  judiciously  distributed.  Speaking  of  Montana 
(for  I  can  speak  of  this  state  from  personal  knowl- 
edge) the  towns  as  a  rule  are  not  overchurched. 
There  may  be  a  few  exceptions,  but  the  exceptions 
are  more  likely  to  be  found  in  the  larger  cities 
than  in  small  towns.  In  cities  of  over  five  thou- 
sand population  there  are  generally  too  many 
churches  for  the  number  of  people  who  attend 
them.  This  is  even  more  true  of  eastern  than 
western  cities.  In  small  towns  in  the  West,  this 
overgrowth  of  churches  is  the  rare  exception. 
There  are  some  overzealous  sectarians  and  super- 
intendents of  missions  representing  various  denomi- 
nations, who  are  over  anxious  to  organize  churches, 
for  the  sake  of  making  a  record  which  looks  big 
in  reports,  but  in  reality  is  no  index  of  the  good 
being  done.  When  we  succeed  in  gathering  a  few 

119 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

believers  together  and  organize  them  into  a  church 
where  no  other  church  exists,  we  feel  that  some- 
thing has  been  done  which  was  actually  needed,  but 
if  such  work  is  done  where  there  is  already  an 
evangelical  church,  it  is  only  entering  into  com- 
petition with  other  Christian  workers  and  not  add- 
ing any  special  force  in  the  Christianizing  a  com- 
munity. 

Some  of  the  leading  denominations  have  an  un- 
written law  which  in  most  cases  has  been  quite 
effectual  in  preventing  unnecessary  organizations. 
This  comity  is  generally  respected  among  Eng- 
lish-speaking denominations,  and  especially  between 
Congregational  and  Presbyterian  churches.  There 
is  not  a  city  or  town  in  the  state  of  Montana  to  my 
knowledge,  of  less  than  five  thousand  people,  where 
there  can  be  found  both  Congregational  and  Pres- 
byterian churches.  There  may  be  some  friendly 
rivalry  between  us  in  entering  new  towns,  as  to 
which  has  the  prior  right,  but  this  is  generally 
conceded  to  the  denomination  first  beginning  regu- 
lar service.  At  the  present  time  there  is  so  much 
for  us  all  to  do  and  so  many  new  towns  springing 
up,  that  there  is  plenty  of  opportunity  for  us  all 
without  any  unfriendly  competition. 

The  writer  has  organized  eight  churches  in  the 
last  year,  and  not  one  of  them  where  any  other 
church  existed.  Very  seldom  are  there  more  than 
two  English-speaking  churches  found  in  towns  of 

120 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

less  than  one  thousand  people.  In  towns  of  more 
than  one  thousand  population  our  experience  has 
been  that  two  churches  thrive  better  than  one. 
The  cost  of  supporting  two  churches  in  said  towns 
is  no  more  than  the  expense  of  one,  for  the  reason,, 
that  the  pastors  of  these  churches  generally  have 
another  charge  in  an  adjoining  village  and  public 
service  is  held  alternately  at  each  place,  and  so  with 
the  other  minister  of  another  denomination;  thus 
the  support  comes  from  two  churches.  By  this  plan 
which  I  know  to  be  adopted  in  many  places,  one 
town  supports  one  minister,  where  there  are  two 
organizations. 

These  are  facts  that  ought  to  be  known  by  con- 
tributors, when  appeals  are  made  for  missionary 
money.  We  in  the  West  feel  truly  grateful  for 
large  contributions  from  the  East  for  support  of 
our  missionary  work.  We  also  recognize  our  re- 
sponsibility in  the  use  and  distribution  of  money 
so  freely  and  generously  given.  The  Board  of 
Home  Missions  also  zealously  guards  said  benevo- 
lence, that  it  be  sent  and  used  in  places  where  there 
is  actual  need.  We  have  instructions  from  head- 
quarters not  to  multiply  churches,  only  where  there 
is  a  mission  others  do  not  fill. 

There  is  another  side  to  this  question  worth  con- 
sidering. It  arises  from  the  personality  of  those 
who  are  most  forward  in  their  objections  to  the 
organization  of  so  many  churches.  They  are  not 

121 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

usually  the  most  generous  givers  and  not  un fre- 
quently the  loudest  objections  come  from  those  who 
give  only  mites,  if  they  give  at  all,  for  missionary 
work.  They  seem  to  see  no  objection  to  three 
mercantile  companies,  where  there  is  a  good  living 
and  reasonable  profits  for  only  one.  In  all  these 
new  towns,  business  is  much  more  overdone  than 
religion.  Ten  saloons  and  one  church  in  their  view 
represents  the  proper  balance  of  power.  The  busi- 
ness man  invests  his  money,  not  for  the  present 
profits  assured,  but  for  the  future.  He  anticipates 
growth  and  in  most  cases  he  is  not  disappointed. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  churches.  Few  organi- 
zations are  justifiable  without  a  vision  of  the  fu- 
ture. If  the  formal  organization  is  postponed  until 
a  time  when  self-support  is  assured  in  a  new  and 
promising  town,  it  would  be  giving  full  sway  to 
evil  influences  during  the  formative  period  of  each 
town's  history.  Towns  are  like  individuals.  Left 
without  Christian  nurture  they  are  likely  to  follow 
the  flesh  and  the  devil.  We  put  special  emphasis 
on  Christian  nurture  of  children,  and  it  is  right  that 
we  should;  not  to  do  so  would  be  criminal  neglect. 
Childhood  is  the  formative  period,  which  in  most 
cases  decides  destiny.  So  with  towns,  if  they  are 
to  be  saved,  they  must  be  saved  from  the  beginning, 
they  must  have  the  saving  salt  of  organized  Chris- 
tian endeavour  in  their  behalf.  Communities  rise 
to  the  height  of  their  life,  and  humanity  unfolds 

122 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

its  dormant  capabilities  only  when  religion  enters 
into  a  living  and  inspiring  relation  to  all  the  rest  of 
human  life. 

Our  plea  then  is  not  for  fewer  churches,  but  for 
more.  While  we  should  discourage  and  strongly 
condemn  the  multiplying  of  churches  prompted  by 
sectarian  zeal,  and  while  we  should  hasten  the  rap- 
idly growing  sentiment  and  spirit  that  fosters  fed- 
eration of  all  the  churches,  until  that  time  comes 
when  we  shall  be  one  in  the  unity  of  faith,  we 
should  the  more  loyally,  devotedly  and  earnestly 
lift  up  everywhere  at  any  cost,  the  standard  of  the 
Cross,  for  which  every  church  must  stand  if  it  de- 
serves the  name  of  a  Christian  church. 

While  all  this  may  be  truthfully  said,  in  answer 
to  the  question,  "  Are  Western  Towns  Over- 
churched?"  it  must  be  recognised  as  a  source  of 
weakness  among  Protestants,  that  there  are  so 
many  distinctive  denominations,  all  working  for  the 
same  cause,  prompted  by  the  same  motives,  (differ- 
ing only  in  non-essentials)  in  perfect  harmony  as 
to  all  cardinal  and  foundation  truths.  The  organ- 
ized divisions  of  Christendom  present  a  pitiable 
sight  to  the  unbelieving  world,  and  one  which  Chris- 
tians have  reason  to  lament.  What  ever  may  have 
been  their  provocation  or  justification  in  the  past, 
there  is  no  justifiable  basis  for  their  existence  in  the 
present.  When  bigotry  narrowed  the  way  to  heaven, 
by  teaching  that  the  only  entrance  was  through 

123 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

some  particular  denominational  door,  there  was 
excuse  and  some  provocation  for  building  fences 
and  drawing  lines  of  separation.  But  these  same 
lines  and  fences  then  erected,  are  now  an  offence 
and  disgrace  to  our  enlightened  Christianity  of  the 
twentieth  century.  Protestant  unity  is  demanded  in 
the  solution  of  the  present  day  problems,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  working  out  of  the  greatest  of  all  prob- 
lems, the  world's  evangelization.  The  reflex 
influence  of  foreign  missions  has  perhaps  been  more 
powerful  than  all  others^,  in  hastening  Christian  fed- 
eration throughout  the  world. 

The  great  missionary  convention  and  conference 
held  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  June  15-23,  1910,  had 
for  its  key-note  throughout,  the  necessity  and  ac- 
tual demand  for  the  united  forces  of  Christendom 
in  the  forward  movement  of  world-wide  evangeli- 
zation. It  has  been  pronounced  by  many  to  have 
been  the  greatest  religious  conference  ever  con- 
vened, not  only  because  of  its  world-wide  represen- 
tation, but  also  for  its  progressive,  optimistic  and 
far-reaching  influence. 

The  composition  of  the  conference  itself,  in  the 
cosmopolitan  character  of  its  delegates,  when  all 
phases  of  Christian  propaganda  were  presented 
by  experts,  was  an  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  the 
times  that  is  pressing  with  dynamic  energy  towards 
Protestant  unity. 

A  writer  in  the  British  Weekly  gives  his  impres- 
124 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

sion  of  this  phase  of  the  Conference.  "  The  won- 
der of  the  Conference  is  not  in  its  outlook  or 
purpose,  for  with  these  we  have  been  familiar  now 
for  many  years.  All  Christians  recognize  that 
Christianity  is  meant  for  the  whole  world,  and,  lat- 
ently at  any  rate,  wish  to  communicate  its  truth  to 
all.  No,  the  wonder  is  in  the  compact,  solid,  busi- 
nesslike combination  of  all  these  varied  elements 
into  an  organism,  a  brain,  a  voice,  which  seems  to 
be  actually  filled  with  and  used  by  Christ  through 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Here  all  nations  and  all  churches 
(except,  alas:  the  so-called  Catholic  churches,  East- 
ern and  Western)  sit  side  by  side,  with  no  conscious 
barriers  between  them.  They  speak  as  one,  they 
pray  as  one.  In  this  amazing  Assembly,  so  vast 
that  the  eye  can  hardly  take  it  in,  so  orderly  that 
there  is  no  confusion,  so  harmonious  that  it  might 
have  been  drilled  and  prepared  beforehand,  an 
Anglican  Bishop  is  sitting  side  by  side  with  a  Non- 
conformist minister,  a  black  man  is  sitting  by  an 
American  pastor,  an  Anglican  monk  or  nun  is  sit- 
ting beside  a  Chinaman  in  native  costume,  a  Jap- 
anese or  Korean,  in  European  dress,  with  gold 
spectacles,  is  sitting  by  an  equally  civilized  Finn  or 
German  or  Dane.  All  ranks  of  all  nations  are 
united;  English  and  Scotch  noblemen  have  seats  in 
this  house  of  the  Lord;  the  Archbishops  of  the 
English  Church  address  these  representatives  of  all 
Protestant  churches  as  brothers.  When  this  As- 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

sembly  prays,  it  is  the  most  overwhelming  revela- 
tion of  spiritual  power  I  ever  witnessed.  It  is  an 
intercessor  for  the  world." 

Missionary  workers  on  both  home  and  foreign 
fields  come  in  contact  with  and  therefore  recognize 
the  evils  of  sectarianism  in  a  way,  that  those  who 
labour  in  old  settled  communities  and  long  estab- 
lished churches,  cannot  easily  comprehend.  Out 
here  on  the  firing  line  of  the  Western  Frontier,  in 
sparsely  settled  communities  and  small  villages, 
with  a  great  extent  of  uninhabited  territory  be- 
tween, there  is  a  community  of  feeling  and  a  social 
relation  which  looks  upon  religious  sectarianism 
as  worthy  only  of  condemnation  and  unworthy  sup- 
port. 

There  is  a  fashion  in  ideas  as  in  styles,  and  at 
present  the  fashionable  idea  is  Christian  unity. 
There  is  scarcely  an  organ  of  public  opinion  that 
does  not  applaud  the  project  of  a  truce  in  religions. 
The  scandal  of  disunion  among  Christians  effects 
deeply  large  numbers  of  persons  to  whom  Chris- 
tianity, under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  not  in- 
debted. Old  points  of  controversy  between  the 
churches  are  pronounced  dead  issues,  and  the  con- 
troversial temper  has  died  with  them.  Nothing  is 
wanted  but  a  little  of  goodwill  to  triumph  over  triv- 
ial misunderstandings,  and  now  is  the  auspicious 
hour.  Public  opinion  is  on  the  side  of  union,  and, 
indeed  is  so  strongly  on  its  side  that  it  will  not 

126 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

tolerate  with  patience  and  grace  any  ecclesiastical 
action  that  is  not  willing  to  sacrifice  everything  to 
this  supreme  good. 

Organic  union  may  be  too  radical,  but  a  more 
complete  federation  is  practical.  Federation  on 
some  such  plan  as  that  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Chris- 
tian Endeavour  Societies  and  reform  movements 
like  the  Anti-saloon  League,  is  eminently  practical. 
All  the  above  mentioned  organizations  have  been 
almost  universally  recognized  as  forces  of  far-reach- 
ing influence  in  religious  propaganda. 

Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke  has  recently  written  a 
timely  article  on  this  subject  for  the  Continent, 
a  part  of  which  is  here  quoted  by  his  permission. 

"  What  we  want  first  is  a  closer  fellowship,  a 
fuller  and  freer  cooperation  in  work  and  worship 
among  professed  followers  of  Christ;  and  then  a 
removal  of  the  dividing  walls,  a  coming  together, 
first  of  those  sister  churches  which  are  separated 
for  reasons  invisible  to  the  naked  eye;  then  of 
those  kindred  churches  whose  differences  are  more 
apparent  but  still  of  no  vital  importance  compared 
with  their  agreements;  and  finally,  it  may  be  of 
the  whole  family  of  God,  the  visible  church  con- 
sisting of  'all  those  throughout  the  world  that  pro- 
fess the  true  religion,  together  with  their  children.' 

"  The  fullness  of  that  vision  seems  a  long  way  off. 
But  the  first  steps  that  lead  toward  it  are  very 
close  to  us  and  some  of  them  have  already  been 

127 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

taken.  It  must  be  admitted  that  they  are  only 
beginnings,  and  that  their  success,  as  yet,  is  limited. 
But  there  is  certainly  more  recognition  and  coopera- 
tion among  Christian  churches  than  there  used  to 
be,  and  there  will  be  more  yet  if  we  have  a  real 
revival  of  religion.  The  proposed  conference  of 
churches,  '  for  frank  statement  of  their  differ- 
ences '  is  full  of  hope.  It  is  bold,  it  is  original, 
and  if  it  is  done  in  the  right  spirit,  not  with  a  de- 
sire to  exalt  differences,  but  with  a  willingness  to 
yield  the  non-essentials,  it  ought  to  open  men's  eyes 
to  some  of  the  absurdities  of  the  present  state  of 
things.  Lord  Macaulay  said  in  India,  '  In  a  coun- 
try where  men  pray  to  cows  the  differences  that  di- 
vide Christians  seem  of  small  account.'  We  ought 
to  see  to-day  that  in  a  world  where  evil  is  rampant 
and  idolatry  increases,  the  disputes  that  separate 
Christians  are  shameful. 

"  What  trials  and  delays  must  be  endured,  what 
obstacles  and  difficulties  overcome,  what  long  and 
perilous  journey  accomplished,  before  the  vision  is 
realised,  God  only  knows.  It  may  be  that  the  con- 
flict with  evil  must  grow  sharper  and  more  bitter, 
before  Christians  learn  that  division  means  defeat. 
It  may  be  that  the  shame  of  forsaken  temples,  and 
a  vanishing  Sabbath,  and  a  system  of  education 
without  religion,  must  grow  deeper,  to  make  men 
see  the  fatal  consequences  of  disunion,  rivalry  and 
mutual  mistrust  among  the  disciples  of  Christ. 

128 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVER  CHURCHED?. 

It  may  be  that  disaster  and  humiliation  and  weak- 
ness must  befall  the  Christian  forces  and  they  must 
be  driven  to  some  dreadful  battlefield  of  Armaged- 
don to  make  them  stand  together  against  the  united 
powers  of  darkness  and  unbelief.  Or  it  may  be 
(and  God  grant  it)  that  the  lesson  will  be  learned 
in  brighter  paths  and  slowly  spelled  in  syllables  of 
hope.  It  may  be  that  the  success  of  the  Christian 
associations  which  have  made  a  league  of  youth  to 
girdle  earth  with  the  name  of  Jesus  will  teach  the 
churches  something.  It  may  be  that  the  great 
world  conference  of  missions  at  Edinburgh,  which 
gathered  men  of  all  creeds  and  communions  to  hear 
of  the  victories  of  Christ  in  heathen  lands  and  to 
plan  together  for  wider  triumphs,  may  kindle  a  joy 
fire  in  the  churches  that  will  burn  the  barriers  away. 
But  whether  by  bright  ways  or  by  dark  ways, 
whether  through  suffering  or  rejoicing,  God  lead  us 
toward  the  consummation  of  Christian  unity  in 
church  union,  God  keep  us  obedient  to  the  heavenly 
vision. 

"  Christendom  reunited  on  the  tHree-essential 
basis, —  God,  Christ  and  the  Bible  —  a  glorious 
church,  adorned  as  a  bride  for  her  husband,  fair  as 
the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  overwhelming  as  an  army 
with  banners  —  oh,  how  that  vision  shines  and 
glows  upon  the  far  horizon,  beckoning  our  hearts 
and  hopes. 

"  How  shall  we  obey  it  far  away?  How  shall  we 
129 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

really  serve  it  now,  so  that  our  services  shall  count 
for  the  glorious  future?  Three  things  let  us  all 
do: 

"  i  —  Be  loyal  in  will  and  work  to  that  branch  of 
the  church  which  we  joined  to  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  which  gives  us  personally  our  broadest 
chance  to  labour  for  Him. 

"2 —  Simplify  our  faith,  clarify  our  worship, 
open  our  communions  to  all  who  trust  Christ,  our 
pulpits  to  all  who  preach  Christ. 

"3  —  Bear  a  hand  in  every  effort  that  brings 
Christians  together,  and  close  every  day's  work  and 
worship  with  the  prayer  of  brotherhood :  *  Grace  be 
with  all  them  that  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
sincerity.' ' 

Something  very  practical  is  also  being  accom- 
plished along  this  line  in  the  way  of  co-operative  ad- 
vance in  home  missionary  work,  as  indicated  by  a 
recent  report  of  the  joint  committee,  whose  object 
is  to  unite  all  protestant  churches  in  an  effort  to 
remove  an  existing  disgrace  of  overchurched  dis- 
tricts and  towns.  This  committee  was  appointed  in 
the  spring  of  1909,  through  the  Federal  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America.  The  Fed- 
eral Council  was  organized  by  the  specific  and  for- 
mal action  of  thirty  denominations  acting  as  entire 
denominational  bodies,  composed  of  over  sixteen 
million  communicants.  The  Home  Missions 

130 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

Council  is  a  combination  of  the  Home  Mission 
Boards  and  officers  of  fifteen  communions,  includ- 
ing nearly  all  the  larger  denominations.  This  joint 
committee  consists  of  forty  representative  men 
from  twenty-one  denominational  bodies. 

This  committee  undertook  as  its  first  task,  to 
make  an  investigation  as  to  the  actual  conditions  in 
the  home  mission  field,  to  discover  in  what  degree 
there  is  overlapping  of  effort,  and  to  what  extent 
home  mission  territory  is  neglected  by  all.  As  a 
beginning  in  this  direction  the  committee  re- 
quested the  Federal  Council  of  Churches  to  make 
inquiry  concerning  a  single  and  typical  western 
state.  The  result  of  this  investigation  covered  the 
entire  state  of  Colorado,  county  by  county  and  town 
by  town,  giving  the  population,  area,  the  post  offices, 
the  churches,  the  membership,  the  current  expenses 
of  the  churches  and  the  amount  of  home  mission 
aid  received.  The  results  of  this  investigation 
made  it  very  plain  from  general  conditions  that 
there  is  occasion  for  the  Home  Mission  Boards  to 
give  fresh  consideration  to  this  feature  of  their  re- 
sponsibility. This  single  instance  and  first  effort, 
prompted  the  National  Home  Mission  Boards  and 
Societies  of  Evangelical  Churches  in  the  United 
States  of  America  to  undertake  a  general  survey  of 
religious  conditions  in  the  strategic  western  states. 
The  report  and  results  of  this  more  general  survey 
will  not  be  before  the  public  for  several  months  to 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

come.  It  indicates  however  a  movement  in  the 
right  direction.  The  purpose  of  making  such  a 
survey  of  religious  condition  is: 

First  —  That  the  officers  of  Home  Mission 
Boards  may  confer  with  each  other,  and  arrange  to 
allot  the  entire  unoccupied  fields  among  the  various 
bodies,  so  that  each  shall  feel  especial  responsibility 
for  given  fields. 

Second  —  To  decline  to  endorse  for  home  mis- 
sionary aid  in  places  where  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is 
earnestly  and  adequately  promulgated  by  others  and 
where  assured  prospects  of  growth  do  not  seem  to 
demand  the  establishment  of  other  churches. 

This  movement  so  wisely  and  timely  initiated, 
looking  towards  the  federation  of  Protestant 
churches,  indicates  hopeful  progress  in  unifying  all 
home  missionary  endeavour,  and  if  put  into  effectual 
practice  (as  we  sincerely  trust  it  will)  will  act  as  a 
source  of  appeal  against  the  multiplication  of  un- 
necessary churches  in  small  towns,  as  well  as  a 
source  of  information  concerning  localities  destitute 
of  adequate  Gospel  privileges. 

We  have  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  essen- 
tials in  religious  life  and  growth  are  being  empha- 
sized, while  non-essentials  are  minimized.  Dogma- 
olatry  is  less  respected,  and  good  fruits  more  hon- 
oured. The  surprise  is  that  the  churches  have  been 
so  long  finding  out  that  their  true  mission  in  a  world 
of  sin,  does  not  consist  so  much  in  promulgating  a 

132 


ARE  WESTERN  TOWNS  OVERCHURCHED? 

system  of  doctrine,  as  it  does  in  establishing  a  sys- 
tem of  works.  The  unerring  test  is  that  "  by  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

The  denominational  divisions  in  Christendom, 
present  a  pitiable  picture  of  the  oneness  for  which 
Christ  prayed,  imploring  for  His  disciples  the  rich- 
est blessing  God  could  give,  "  that  they  may  be  one, 
even  as  we  are  one."  We  have  not  advanced  far 
enough  in  the  fulfillment  of  this  prayer  to  consist- 
ently sing  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan's  hymn : 

"Like  a  mighty  army, 
Moves  the  church  of  God; 
Brothers,  we  are  treading 
Where  the   saints  have  trod; 
We  are  not  divided, 
All  one  body  we, 
One  in  hope  and  doctrine, 
One  in  charity." 

There  are  two  kinds  of  unity:  one  a  unity  of  law 
or  principle,  and  one  a  unity  of  manifestation. 
The  unity  for  which  our  Saviour  prayed,  is  a  one- 
ness of  principle,  not  uniformity  in  manifestation. 
Uniformity  is  contrary  to  all  the  works  of  God. 
Unity  of  principle  is  everywhere  in  evidence.  Di- 
visions may  have  been  a  necessary  evil  during  cer- 
tain periods  of  growth  in  the  Christian  church,  but 
these  conditions  have  long  since  past.  The  two 
hundred  or  more  denominational  divisions  in  exist- 
ence, cannot  be  looked  upon  otherwise  than  an  un- 
speakable injury  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  At  the 

133 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

present  time  we  are  wrestling  with  a  condition,  not 
a  theory.  Doctrine  asserted  and  adopted  by  ecclesi- 
astical authority,  contrary  to  that  which  is  the  re- 
sult of  experience,  should  not  any  longer  be  bind- 
ing on  the  individual  conscience. 

Ox-carts  were  supplanted  by  the  horse  carriage; 
the  horse  carriage  is  being  supplanted  by  the  auto- 
mobile, and  each  change  affords  a  quicker  method 
to  reach  the  goal. 

In  earlier  days,  schism  and  secession  were  justi- 
fied on  the  ground  that  error  is  taught  in  the  church. 
If  it  be  a  doctrinal  error  which  does  not  subvert 
personal  faith  in  Christ,  it  should  not  be  allowed 
to  divide  believers  into  denominational  orders. 
Christ  is  more  than  doctrine  and  charity  better  than 
knowledge.  This  principle  is  now  uniting  a  long 
divided  church  and  hastening  the  federation  of  be- 
lievers in  one  grand  army  of  the  living  God.  "  He 
that  is  not  with  Me  is  against  Me;  and  he  that 
gathereth  not  with  Me,  scattereth  abroad." 


134 


CHAPTER  VII 
REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

WHATEVER  may  be  said  for  or  against  the 
Indian,  his  history  is  replete  with  heroic 
achievements  and  martial  deeds.  What- 
ever may  be  said  concerning  the  policies  of  the 
government  in  its  treatment  of  the  red  man,  the 
purpose  has  been  altruistic.  The  greatest  mistakes 
have  been  confessed  and  corrected.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  Christian  Missions.  Much  has  had 
to  be  learned  by  experience.  Mistakes  have  been 
many,  but  in  all  the  annals  of  Christian  Missions, 
home  or  foreign,  the  history  of  Indian  work  fur- 
nishes most  heroic  and  inspiring  records  of  devo- 
tion and  untiring  effort. 

The  history  of  America  records  deeds  which  are 
worthy  to  be  called  heroic;  that  are  unparalleled  in 
the  world's  account  of  great  achievements.  But, 
amid  these  resplendent  deeds,  none  deserve  greater 
honour  than  many  of  the  missionaries,  both  Prot- 
estant and  Catholic,  who  literally  gave  their  lives 
for  the  redemption  of  the  red  man. 

135 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Prescott  said,  "every  step  that  the  white  man 
has  taken  in  the  new  world  has  been  over  the  corpse 
of  an  Indian."  But  amid  the  dark  shadows  of 
human  greed  and  avarice,  are  the  deeds  of  self- 
sacrificing  missionaries,  who  laboured  not  for  gold, 
but  for  the  love  of  souls.  They  were  men  of  un- 
daunted perseverance,  who  endured  hardships  and 
dangers,  to  achieve  the  redemption  of  a  race,  sup- 
planted by  a  stronger  people.  Many  of  these  men 
are  now  sleeping  in  unmarked  graves  and  without 
epitaphs  of  praise. 

It  is  time  public  impression  was  corrected,  that 
the  Indians  are  a  decadent  and  vanishing  people. 
It  is  true,  that  they  are  passing  through  a  transi- 
tional period.  Both  the  church  and  the  government 
must  assume  the  responsibility  as  to  whether  this 
transitional  period  shall  terminate  in  his  extinction 
or  redemption. 

"  America  is  the  great  mixing  bowl  of  races, 
wherein  by  some  cosmic  alchemy  the  great  ruling 
race  of  the  world  is  produced.  Every  racial  ele- 
ment that  is  in  the  country  to-day,  or  which  is  com- 
ing into  the  country  to-morrow,  is  a  potential  ele- 
ment of  the  American  race  of  the  future." — Arthur 
C.  Parker,  Assembly  Herald,  Feb.,  1910. 

This  involves  the  responsibility  of  state  and 
church,  as  to  the  education  and  Christianizing  the 
300,000  Indians  now  looked  upon  as  the  wards  of 
our  nation. 

136 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

There  is  also  a  common  opinion  abroad  that  the 
Indian  is  a  poor  and  vanishing  race.  It  has  long 
been  customary  for  poets  to  sing  the  dirge  of  the 
dying  race,  and  for  orators  to  declare  that  the  In- 
dians are  disappearing  as  the  results  of  wrongs  at 
the  hands  of  white  men;  but  whatever  may  have 
happened  to  individuals,  the  Indians  as  a  race  are 
farther  than  ever  from  extinction.  Statisticians  of 
the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs  at  Washington  say 
that  the  pioneers  and  early  historians  greatly  over- 
estimated the  number  of  Indians  in  the  country,  and 
that,  as  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  more  now  than 
there  were  when  the  white  man  came.  Certainly, 
since  their  actual  numeration  has  been  possible,  the 
increase  in  their  numbers  has  been  marked.  The 
Indian  population  grew  from  two  hundred  and 
forty-eight  thousand  in  1890,  to  three  hundred  and 
five  thousand  in  1910. 

In  spite  of  popular  opinion  to  the  contrary,  the 
Indians,  moreover,  are  not  poor;  they  form  in  fact, 
one  of  the  wealthiest  races  in  the  world.  In  landed 
property  and  in  cash  the  fhree  hundred  and  five 
thousand  Indians  possess  six  hundred  million  dol- 
lars, a  per  capita  wealth  of  about  two  thousand  dol- 
lars, or  more  than  twice  the  per  capita  wealth  of 
white  Americans.  The  government  now  holds 
approximately  thirty-seven  million  dollars  in  trust 
for  the  various  Indian  tribes,  most  of  which  bears 
interest  at  from  three  to  five  per  cent.,  yielding  an 

137 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

annual  income  of  about  one  million  and  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  Although  the  red  man  was 
the  victim  of  much  unscrupulous  treatment  in  early 
years,  the  government  has  been  most  generous  in 
atonement,  and  in  seeking  earnestly  and  honestly  to 
solve  the  problems  connected  with  his  welfare. 

The  wild  Indian  surely  will  pass  away.  He  must 
either  level  up  to  civilisation  or  level  down  to  ex- 
tinction. When  that  comes  to  pass,  there  will  be 
no  Indian  problem.  But  will  this  ever  come  to 
pass?  We  answer  in  the  affirmative,  if  the  pure 
blooded  aboriginal  type  is  meant.  This  type  is  fast 
disappearing. 

Ethnologists  affirm  that  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  continent,  there  were  300,000  In- 
dians occupying  the  territory  now  comprising  the 
area  of  the  United  States,  not  including  Alaska. 
Whether  this  estimate  be  correct  or  not  we  are  not 
prepared  to  say.  The  present  population  is  not 
half  so  large,  and  a  very  great  majority  of  these 
are  half-breeds,  many  seven-eighths  white.  Along 
the  northwestern  border  of  New  York  to  the  Rock- 
ies, the  mixed  bloods  are  more  common  than  the 
aboriginal  type.  Amalgamation  is  their  ultimate 
destiny,  not  extinction.  The  nation's  wards  are  to 
become  independent,  self-supporting  and  intelligent 
citizens. 

All  government  assistance  and  missionary  effort 
should  be  given  and  rendered  with  this  as  an  ulti- 

138 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

matum.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  wisdom  of 
the  reservation  policy  as  a  beginning,  as  a  step  to 
something  better,  its  folly  has  been  acknowledged 
and  is  rapidly  being  corrected.  By  this  mistaken 
policy  the  Indian's  descent  from  the  independence  of 
his  original  condition  to  mendicancy  and  pauperism 
was  made  sure.  If  there  is  any  truth  in  the  criti- 
cism that  the  red  man  has  stood  still  or  retrograded 
in  spite  of  the  efforts  made  to  lift  him  up,  our  gov- 
ernment is  largely  responsible  through  its  policy  of 
segregating,  clothing  and  feeding  him  as  an  ox  from 
the  public  manger. 

It  was  treating  him  as  a  race  incapable  of  citizen- 
ship ;  as  if  the  best  that  could  be  done  for  him  was 
to  pen  him  up  within  definite  limits,  provide  for 
him  the  necessities  of  life  without  any  effort  or  cost 
on  his  part  whatever.  It  is  a  matter  of  congratula- 
tion that  this  un-American  absurdity  of  keeping  one 
class  of  people  thus  segregated,  has  been  clearly  dem- 
onstrated, and  that  the  reservation  system  is  being 
broken  up  as  fast  as  circumstances  will  allow,  and 
replaced  by  the  allotment  policy,  which  as  far  as 
we  can  see  at  the  present  time  is  sane  statesman- 
ship. 

The  Indian  is  thought  of  as  possessing  certain 
racial  tendencies,  such  as  to  eat,  to  drink  and  prefer 
pleasure  to  work ;  that  these  tendencies  are  so  deeply 
rooted  in  the  race  as  to  unfit  him  forever  for  honour- 
able citizenship.  What  may  be  said  of  the  Indian 

139 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

in  this  respect,  might  also  be  said  of  all  primitive 
tribes  of  all  other  races  of  mankind. 

Francis  Leupp,  who  was  United  States  Commis- 
sioner for  many  years,  and  who  is  among  the  most 
efficient  and  sympathetic  friends  of  the  Indians,  re- 
lates this  incident,  confirming  our  belief  that  the 
Indians  as  a  whole  despise  being  treated  as  paupers. 
"  An  Indian  chief  begged  the  government  agent  not 
to  send  free  rations  to  his  tribe,  because  he  did  not 
wish  their  young  men  to  be  ruined  by  learning  to 
eat  free  bread  out  of  the  government's  hand." 

On  my  missionary  tours  through  the  state  of 
Montana,  I  have  often  been  in  the  homes  and  con- 
versed with  the  chiefs  on  the  Flathead  and  other 
reservations,  and  from  what  I  have  learned  as  the 
prevailing  sentiment  among  them,  it  is  not  alms  they 
desire,  but  assistance  and  encouragement  towards 
self-support  and  honourable  citizenship. 

To  accomplish  this  end,  is  the  work  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  cooperation  with  the  philanthropic  so- 
cieties and  missionary  efforts  supported  by  the 
church. 

Certain  characteristics  of  the  Indian  make  it  im- 
possible for  his  race  to  attain  worthy  citizenship  un- 
aided. He  is  too  greatly  deficient  in  imitative  quali- 
ties and  business  ability,  to  successfully  compete 
with  the  white  man's  industrial  gifts.  If  the  first 
duty  of  a  nation  in  its  educational  system  is  to  in- 
sure its  future  quality,  these  characteristics  should 

140 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

be  kept  in  view,  in  efforts  put  forth  to  render  assist- 
ance and  encouragement.  This  is  evidently  the  in- 
tent of  the  government  in  the  policies  adopted  in 
the  last  few  years.  The  purpose  is  to  establish 
an  Indian  citizenship  along  a  definitely  defined  plan. 

First.     To  grant  him  a  home  of  his  own. 

Second.  To  lay  upon  him  a  personal  responsi- 
bility for  the  management  of  his  own  property. 

Third.  To  protect  him  through  paternal  over- 
sight and  superintendency,  for  a  term  of  years  in 
the  title  of  his  lands. 

Fourth.  To  give  the  young  people,  through  the 
government  schools,  industrial  education  near  their 
homes. 

All  this  places  emphasis  where  it  belongs,  and 
where  it  should  be  placed,  as  a  means  of  encourage- 
ment towards  self  support  and  in  preparation  for 
citizenship. 

The  supreme  moral  responsibility  imposed  upon 
the  United  States  in  the  annexation  of  Porto  Rico, 
the  Philippines  and  other  islands  of  the  sea  which 
became  our  inheritance  as  the  result  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  was  promptly  recognized  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley  when  he  said,  "  The  Philippines  are 
ours,  not  to  exploit,  but  to  develop,  to  civilize,  to 
educate  and  to  train  in  the  science  of  self-govern- 
ment. This  is  the  path  of  duty  we  must  follow  or 
be  recreant  to  a  great  trust." 

All  that  can  be  expected  from  the  government  is 
141 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

recognition  of  the  same  moral  responsibility  for  the 
Indians,  who  were  the  first  Americans  and  now 
live  within  our  borders.  That  recent  policies 
are  being  pushed  with  considerable  degree  of  ear- 
nestness, is  evidenced  from  the  fact  that  as  early 
as  June,  1909,  nearly  81,000  Indians  had  received 
allotments,  aggregating  12,500,000  acres  of  land. 
Special  attention  has  been  given  also  to  primary 
schools  and  industrial  training.  So  well  has  this 
system  been  prosecuted  and  so  far  reaching  is  it  in 
promises  for  the  future,  that  it  seems  as  though  the 
Indian  problem  has  been  practically  solved  so  far 
as  policies  are  concerned  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 
ernment. It  has  come  now  to  be  largely  a  matter 
of  more  efficient  administration,  which  we  hope  will 
grow  better  as  experience  teaches. 

One  thing  the  government  might  do  and  ought 
to  do  at  once,  is  to  give  more  scientific  treatment 
to  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  Indians.  The  In- 
dian tribes  are  ravaged  by  two  of  the  most  dreaded 
diseases, —  tuberculosis  and  trachoma.  The  Crow 
Indians  of  Montana,  numbering  1,725,  live  on  one 
reservation,  and  98  per  cent,  of  the  tribe  are  tainted 
with  tuberculosis.  This  tribe  is  worth  $9,000,000 
in  lands  and  cash  in  the  United  States  treasury.  It 
is  said  that  the  death  rate  from  tuberculosis  among 
all  Indians  of  the  United  States  is  30.72  per  1,000 
of  population.  When  consideration  is  given  to  the 
splendid  work  our  government  has  done  in  Cuba 

142 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

and  the  Philippines  for  health  and  sanitation,  our 
record  in  this  regard  among  the  Indians  is,  to  say 
the  least,  shameful  neglect.  This  question  calls  for 
prompt  action.  To  have  it  delayed  threatens  the 
health  of  the  white  race,  who  are  compelled  in 
many  ways  to  come  more  or  less  in  contact  with 
the  Indians. 

In  this  chapter  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to 
speak  especially  of  missionary  work  and  efforts 
that  are  of  religious  and  philanthropic  character. 
Among  the  agencies  working  for  the  good  of  the 
Indian,  aside  from  the  government,  are  philan- 
thropic societies  deriving  their  impulse  and  interests 
from '  purely  humanitarian  motives.  Such  as  the 
"  National  Indian  Association,"  composed  mostly 
of  women,  whose  interests  in  the  welfare  of  the  red 
man,  have  prompted  their  efforts  and  enlisted  phil- 
anthropic support.  "  The  Indian  Rights  Associa- 
tion," "  The  Indian  Citizenship  Committee,"  "  The 
Indian  Branch  of  the  Anti-Saloon  League  of 
America,"  the  names  of  which  indicate  their  special 
sphere  of  labour  and  service  in  behalf  of  the  Indian 
race.  That  such  a  large  number  of  respectable  and 
influential  citizens,  as  well  as  the  government  itself, 
are  so  deeply  interested  in  behalf  of  this  long  abused 
and  neglected  people,  too  long  forgotten  by  the 
Christian  citizens  of  our  nation,  indicates  a  brighter 
future. 

But  the  salvation  of  this  people  is  a  work  pecu- 
143 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

liarly  committed  to  American  Christians.  The  in- 
stincts of  religion  and  patriotism  should  prompt  the 
effort.  A  sense  of  responsibility  and  obligation  to 
the  heathen  in  our  own  land  should  kindle  enthusi- 
asm and  impel  heroic  zeal.  The  history  of  the 
often  unjust  and  cruel  dealings  with  this  native  race 
in  the  past,  should  create  sympathetic  impulse  to 
speedy  and  effective  measures  for  their  redemption. 
The  religious  influence  of  a  large  number  of  Chris- 
tian teachers  in  our  government  schools,  should  be 
reckoned  among  the  redemptive  forces  employed 
for  the  Indian.  Like  most  of  the  real  forces  of 
life,  their  labours  are  not  appreciated  as  they  should 
be.  In  a  quiet  way  and  apart  from  public  observa- 
tion, they  teach  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  Bible, 
Biblical  texts,  selections  from  the  Psalms  and  other 
portions  of  Scripture  are  committed  to  memory  and 
Christian  hymns  are  sung  in  the  schools.  Such 
teachers  exercise  a  powerful  influence  by  their  per- 
sonal touch  over  the  Indian  home.  Many  of  them 
also  become  teachers  in  the  Sabbath-schools  and 
zealous  helpers  in  Christian  churches  established  for 
the  Indians. 

While  this  may  be  said,  we  all  know  that  the 
government  schools  cannot  be  utilized  for  distinc- 
tive purpose  of  teaching  religion,  or  for  the  para- 
mount necessity  of  imparting  religious  education. 
We  recognize,  and  we  ought  to  appreciate  as  well, 
that  there  is  much  religious  work  accomplished 

144 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

through  the  devotion  of  the  individual  teacher,  but 
the  sooner  the  Christian  churches  of  America  realize 
that  distinctively  religious  training  must  be  given, 
apart  from  our  public  school  system,  either  on  or 
off  the  reservations,  the  sooner  will  the  seriousness 
of  the  problem  which  confronts  us  be  understood 
and  acted  upon. 

The  secularization  of  national  schools  has  be- 
come an  accepted  fact,  and  the  only  well-founded 
hope  of  religious  training  is  in  the  distinctively  re- 
ligious home  and  school.  This  must  be  supported 
by  the  church.  American  citizenship,  north  and 
south,  east  and  west,  is  already  civilized.  It  is  not 
Christianized,  although  we  may  call  it  a  Christian 
civilization,  because  permeated  with  Christian  prin- 
ciples and  teachings.  Without  the  influence  of 
Christianity  leavening  secular  education,  our  repub- 
lican institutions  have  no  more  assurance  of  per- 
manency than  the  Grecian  republics  of  ancient  his- 
tory. 

All  our  missionary  work  in  these  growing  em- 
pires of  the  West,  must  have  for  its  chief  aim  and 
purpose,  what  has  been  emphasized  in  previous 
chapters,  the  making  of  Christian  Citizenship.  Our 
aim  is  higher  than  that  of  the  state.  The  saving 
and  redemptive  power  of  the  Gospel  is  more  than 
intellectual  and  industrial  training. 

Is  the  Gospel  efficacious  in  saving  the  Indian? 
Has  the  Indian  a  basic  sense  of  moral  responsibility 

145 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

sufficiently  robust  to  be  capable  of  high  religious  de- 
velopment? We  who  believe  with  the  Apostle 
Paul,  that  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth, 
these  questions  are  absurd.  However,  some  very 
intellgent  persons,  do  ask  such  questions,  favouring 
a  negative  answer. 

A  lady  missionary  among  the  Indians  for  sev- 
eral years,  whose  health  was  impaired  through  de- 
votion to  the  work,  whose  labours  showed  excep- 
tional results,  was  returning  East,  seeking  renewal 
of  bodily  strength,  when  a  friend  said  to  her  in  a 
sarcastic  tone,  "Are  you  a  missionary  among  the 
Indians?"  "Yes,"  she  replied.  "Do  you  not 
think  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  civilize  the  In- 
dians?" She  answered,  "Judging  from  the  time 
it  has  taken  to  civilize  the  white  man,  no  doubt  it 
will." 

I  do  not  put  as  much  stress  on  statistical  reports 
of  Christian  work  as  correct  indices  of  what  has 
been  done,  as  some  do.  Nevertheless,  some  ap- 
proximately correct  estimate  may  be  reached  by 
statistical  reports  of  missionary  work  among  the 
Indians. 

Inasmuch  as  I  am  writing  of  the  spiritual  con- 
quest of  the  Northwest,  my  citations  will  be  prin- 
cipally of  work  done  in  the  northern  states. 

It  should  be  noted  that  missionary  work  among 
the  Indians  began  long  before  reservations  had 

146 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

been  considered.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  prelimi- 
nary missionary  work ;  had  it  not  been  for  the  thou- 
sands of  devoted  and  Christian  Indians,  the  direct 
result  of  missionary  endeavour,  the  efficiency  of  the 
government  schools  as  seen  to-day,  would  not  have 
been  possible.  The  missionaries  sowed  the  seed  in 
years  gone  by,  and  the  harvest  is  the  opportunity  of 
to-day. 

Among  these  early  heroes  of  Christ,  whose 
labours  were  in  behalf  of  the  Dakota  Indians,  are 
the  names  of  Steven  W.  Riggs,  John  P.  William- 
son, D.  D.,  Bishop  Whipple  and  Bishop  Hare,  saints 
whose  records  stand  with  honour  among  the  great 
hosts  of  valiant  servants  of  God. 

Dr.  John  P.  Williamson  says,  "  There  are  about 
five  thousand  communicants  of  all  denominations 
among  the  twenty-five  thousand  Dakota  Indians. 
Under  their  influence,  idol  worship  in  public  is  a 
thing  of  the  past."  As  to  self-support  he  says, 
"Of  the  thirty-two  Presbyterian  churches,  twenty 
pay  over  half  or  more  of  the  salary  of  their  pastors, 
and  one  of  them  pays  the  whole." 

Under  Presbyterian  care  there  are  three  white 
missionaries  and  seventeen  Indian  ministers. 
There  are  thirty-two  churches  with  a  membership  of 
1,713,  and  650  children  in  the  Sabbath  school.  All 
this  work  is  supported  by  the  gift  of  $10,000  from 
the  Home  Mission  Board.  These  churches  re- 
turned of  this  amount,  $750.00  by  voluntary  con- 

147 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

tributions,  and  $4,000.00  they  give  to  Presbyterian 
Missionary  Society,  while  their  contributions  for 
supporting  their  own  churches  amounts  to  $6,- 
400.00. 

Dr.  Williamson  further  says,  "  Fifty  years  ago 
when  I  received  my  appointment  as  missionary  to 
the  Dakota  Indians,  there  were  only  a  score  of 
Christian  families  in  the  whole  nation.  Notwith- 
standing the  inherited  impress  of  paganism  on  their 
hearts,  God  has  shown  his  power  and  mercy  in 
calling  eight  of  their  descendants  into  the  ministry, 
out  of  twenty-one  Dakotas  who  have  been  or- 
dained in  the  Presbyterian  church.  And  looking 
at  the  church  members,  we  find  that  about  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  1,600  communicants  in  our  churches  are 
Christians  of  the  third  and  fourth  generations." 

The  Episcopal  church  in  its  missionary  work 
among  the  Dakotas,  reports  seventeen  native  min- 
isters, and  sixty-three  licensed  assistants;  an  in- 
crease of  communicants  in  twenty  years  from  900 
to  3,800,  and  the  offerings  of  Indians  from  $1,500 
to  $9,500. 

The  American  Missionary  Society  has  some 
twenty  churches  among  the  Dakotas,  with  sixty 
preaching  stations  and  thirty-five  native  ministers. 

In  Montana  the  Baptists  and  Congregational 
churches  have  very  successful  and  flourishing  mis- 
sions among  the  Crows,  and  the  Presbyterians  at 
Wolf  Point. 

148 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

It  is  only  a  few  years  since  that  vast  territory 
of  our  country,  known  now  as  Minnesota,  North 
and  South  Dakota,  parts  of  Nebraska,  Wyoming 
and  Montana,  was  the  hunting  ground  of  the  Sioux 
nation,  numbering  about  sixty  thousand  Indians. 
There  are  pioneers  still  living  in  Montana  who  re- 
member those  days  and  recall  many  incidents  illus- 
trating their  warlike  and  treacherous  deeds.  The 
Williamsons  and  Riggs,  the  earliest  missionaries  to 
the  Sioux  nation,  instilled  in  their  early  converts  a 
missionary  spirit.  The  Christian  Sioux  organized 
for  themselves  a  missionary  society,  with  the  object 
of  sending  the  Gospel  farther  West,  where  many 
of  their  people  were  moving.  A  mission  station 
was  established  at  Wolf  Point,  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Missouri  River,  near  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween North  Dakota  and  Montana.  A  young  boy 
of  the  Sioux,  named  Richard  King,  became  a  con- 
vert at  the  Good  Will  Mission.  Being  filled  with 
the  missionary  spirit,  he  was  received  into  the  Da- 
kota Presbytery,  and  commissioned  to  preach  to  his 
far  away  Sioux  brothers.  He  and  his  wife  estab- 
lished the  station  at  Wolf  Point  among  the  warrior 
tribes  of  the  Assiniboines.  The  work  so  heroically 
begun  was  of  brief  duration.  Mr.  King  died  after 
a  few  months'  labor.  The  mission,  however,  was 
continued  by  Mrs.  King,  who  took  up  her  husband's 
work  after  his  death.  The  story  of  her  devotion, 
patience  and  zeal  is  worthy  a  place  among  such  as 

149 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

are  recorded  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews.  We  have  heard  her  speak  in  our 
churches  and  plead  for  her  cause  with  becoming 
modesty,  yet  with  a  warmth  of  feeling  and  love  that 
never  failed  to  win  sympathy  and  support,  as  she 
told  her  story  of  unselfish  service. 

There  is  another  record  of  missionary  work, 
which  because  of  its  unique  character  and  remark- 
able success  deserves  a  much  larger  place  in  the 
annals  of  Indian  missions,  than  it  has  ever  re- 
ceived. Some  of  the  writer's  personal  friends  have 
visited  the  island  of  Metlakathla,  and  testify  to 
the  truthfulness  of  the  following  narrative,  that  re- 
cords perhaps  the  most  successful  and  far-reaching 
service  ever  rendered  by  one  man  in  behalf  of  the 
Indians.  Only  a  very  brief  outline  can  be  given 
in  these  pages. 

An  account  of  William  Duncan's  wonderful  mis- 
sion has  been  written  by  Geo.  T.  B.  Davis,  entitled, 
"  Metlakathla/'  a  true  Narrative  of  the  Red  Man," 
published  by  the  Ram's  Horn  Company  of  Chicago, 
in  1904.  (I  have  been  informed  that  the  book  is 
now  out  of  print.)  Since  that  time  a  larger  and 
fuller  account  of  his  missionary  work  has  been  pub- 
lished, but  few  persons  have  so  far  learned  of  this 
unique  work  of  William  Duncan  in  the  far  north. 

William  Duncan,  in  1856,  was  a  student  in  the 
Highbury  Training  School,  London,  when  he  re- 
ceived his  call  from  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 

150 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

to  go  to  the  far  north  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians 
at  Fort  Simpson.  He  sailed  December,  1856,  at 
the  age  of  26.  The  narrative  speaks  of  him  as  a 
man  whose  "  whole  countenance  and  posture  indi- 
cates a  young  man  of  strong  resolution  and  iron 
will." 

He  was  an  idealist,  but  had  the  force  of  character 
necessary  to  transmute  dreams  into  realities,  in  the 
face  of  obstacles  however  difficult.  After  a  voyage 
of  six  months  he  reached  Victoria.  It  was  not  until 
the  latter  part  of  September,  1857,  that  he  was 
permitted  to  continue  his  journey  to  his  destined 
mission.  The  tribes  he  went  to  save  were  perhaps 
the  most  savage  and  bloodthirsty  of  all  the  Indians 
in  this  far  Northland.  Several  months  were  spent 
in  studying  the  language,  before  he  could  begin  his 
real  work.  Fort  Simpson  was  a  garrison  five  hun- 
dred miles  north  of  Victoria,  occupied  by  only 
twenty  English  soldiers  and  officers,  where  three 
thousand  Tsimshean  Indians  lived  near  by.  After 
a  few  years  of  untold  hardships,  yet  with  marked 
degree  of  success,  Mr.  Duncan's  far  vision  discov- 
ered the  folly  of  effort  in  civilizing  and  Christian- 
izing his  converts  in  the  environment  of  savagery 
and  worst  forms  of  superstitious  rites  of  paganism. 
It  was  then  he  resolved  to  adopt  the  colonization 
plan  that  proved  to  be  the  crowning  achievement  of 
his  life. 

The   island   of  Metlakathla   was  selected,   some 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

seventeen  miles  from  Fort  Simpson.  Here  he 
planned  a  model  village  for  his  converts  and  re- 
solved to  separate  them  from  their  barbarous  en- 
vironment. The  necessity  of  separating  his  con- 
verts and  especially  the  children  under  instruction 
in  the  schools,  from  the  vice  and  immorality  and 
heathenism  around  Fort  Simpson,  became  the  ma- 
tured plan  wrought  out  from  his  experience  of 
several  years. 

The  conviction  grew  that  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
the  Indians  demanded  a  Christian  colony,  where 
peace  and  quiet  would  reign,  where  industries  would 
be  taught  and  toil  rewarded,  and  where  the  terrible 
evils  of  fire-water  would  be  unknown. 

The  island  being  selected,  fifteen  rules  were  for- 
mulated which  all  should  sign  who  joined  the 
colony.  These  rules  were  considered  essential  to 
social  order  and  prosperity.  They  are  worthy  of 
study  as  foundation  principles  of  good  government 
and  reveal  profound  statesmanship.  They  are  as 
follows : 

I. — To  give  up  "Ahlied"  or  Indian  deviltry. 
2. — To  cease  calling  in  "  Shamans  "  or  medicine 
men. 


3. — To  cease  gambling. 

4. — To  cease  giving  away  their  property  for  dis- 
play. 

5. — To  cease  painting  their  faces. 
6.< — To  cease  indulgence  in  intoxicating  drinks. 

TCO 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

7. — To  rest  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
g. — To  attend  religious  instruction. 
9. — To  send  their  children  to  school. 

10. — To  be  cleanly. 

ii. — To  be  industrious. 

12. — To  be  peaceful. 

13. — To  be  liberal  and  honest  in  trade. 

14. — To  build  neat  houses. 

15. — To  pay  the  village  tax. 

It  is  related  that  Mr.  Duncan  realized  fully  what 
an  eventful  page  in  the  history  of  the  Indians  was 
being  turned,  and  that  his  joy  was  great,  when  the 
canoes  left  the  shore,  the  sun  which  had  been  hidden 
beind  the  rain-clouds,  broke  forth  disclosing  a  beau- 
tiful rainbow,  a  most  happy  omen  to  the  pilgrims 
departing  for  their  new  home  on  the  island  of  Met- 
lakathla. 

The  stories  of  some  of  the  conversions  are  as 
wonderful  and  miraculous  as  that  of  the  Apostle 
Paul.  The  conversion  of  Paul  Lagaic,  chief  of  all 
the  Tsimshean  tribes,  and  notorious  for  his  cruelty 
and  revengeful  spirit,  is  a  remarkable  incident  of 
God's  saving  grace  in  redeeming  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners. 

As  the  year  passed,  Metlakathla  became  a  Gos- 
pel beacon,  radiating  law  and  order  throughout  all 
the  surrounding  country.  When  the  new  church 
building  was  dedicated  on  Christmas  day,  1874, 
there  was  great  rejoicing. 

153 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Mr.  Duncan  said,  "  Over  seven  hundred  Indians 
were  present  at  our  opening  service.  Could  it  be 
that  this  concourse  of  well  dressed  people  in  the 
new  and  beautiful  church,  but  a  few  years  ago  made 
up  the  fiendish  assemblies  at  Fort  Simpson  ?  Could 
it  be  that  these  voices,  now  engaged  in  solemn 
prayer  and  thrilling  song  of  praise  to  Almighty  God, 
are  the  very  voices  I  once  heard  yelling  and  whoop- 
ing at  heathen  orgies  on  dismal  winter  nights  ?  " 

There  are  sixteen  elders  in  the  Metlakathla 
church,  and  they  are  all  lay  preachers  as  op- 
portunity affords.  The  testimony  of  Mr.  Duncan, 
after  his  long  years  of  experience  and  remarkable 
success,  is  briefly  stated  as  follows: 

"  I  firmly  believe  that  missionaries  all  over  the 
world  should  adopt  the  Christian  settlement  plan  of 
procedure.  Just  as  soon  as  a  small  group  of  Chris- 
tians have  been  won  from  heathenism,  they  should 
remove  and  form  a  separate  and  distinct  colony. 
The  converts  will  in  that  way  grow  and  develop 
far  better  and  faster,  than  when  living  in  daily 
contact  with  all  sort  of  vice  common  among  the 
heathen." 

Industrial  progress  and  possibilities  of  the  In- 
dians has  a  practical  illustration  among  the  Crows 
in  Montana.  Since  fairs  and  expositions  conducted 
by  civilized  nations  are  looked  upon  as  evidence  of 
products  and  manufacturing  interests,  so  may  the 

154 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

exhibition  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  be  a  prac- 
tical illustration  of  what  they  are  capable  of 
doing  when  given  a  chance.  For  several  years, 
under  the  encouragement  and  supervision  of  the 
Government  Agent,  the  Crow  Indians  have  held  an 
annual  fair,  which  has  attracted  attention  and 
marks  an  epoch  in  the  progress  towards  advanced 
conditions  of  civilization.  A  description  of  the 
"  Crow  Indian  Fair  "  written  by  Mrs.  E.  A.  Rich- 
ardson, is  here  given  in  full,  believing  that  it  will 
furnish  instructive  reading  for  those  interested  in 
the  moral  and  industrial  growth  of  the  Indians. 

(Mrs.  Richardson  was  a  teacher  in  the  govern- 
ment schools  on  the  Crow  Reservation  for  sixteen 
years.  Both  in  education  and  experience,  she  is 
eminently  fitted  to  write  intelligently  on  the  sub- 
ject.) 

"  One  would  never  forget  it,  especially  if  unfa- 
miliar with  Indian  customs.  The  festivities  were 
scheduled  for  five  days,  but  interest  attached  to 
preparatory  work  over  a  week  previous,  when  vis- 
iting tribes  or  their  representatives  arrived  in  ever 
increasing  numbers,  on  ponies,  in  wagons,  and  on 
cars.  All  showed  by  dress  and  manners  a  transi- 
tion stage  of  development  towards  the  ideals  and 
apparel  of  their  pale  face  conquerors. 

[<  The  Crow  districts  or  settlements  nearest  head- 
quarters acted  as  hosts,  and  for  about  two  weeks 

155 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

were  upon  the  camping  ground,  exercising  them- 
selves to  entertain  these  first  visitors,  providing 
gifts  and  extending  to  all  the  courtesies  and  cere- 
monies so  much  a  part  of  Indian  life. 

"  The  Crows  are  truly  princely  hosts,  and  their 
guests  know  well  the  worth  of  such  visits  for  them- 
selves. In  fact  no  one  knows  better  than  Mr. 
Indian  how  to  look  after  the  "  loaves  and  fishes." 
The  visitors  represented  many  tribes;  Black  feet, 
Piegans,  Crees,  Assiniboines,  Umatillas,  Nez  Perces, 
Shoshones,  Southern  Arapahoes,  and  Cheyennes, 
and  about  two  hundred  Sioux,  under  the  noted 
American  Horse,  but  from  various  points;  .princi- 
pally Yankton,  Fort  Berthold,  Rosebud,  Pine  Ridge, 
Crow  Creek,  and  lower  Brule.  Practically  the 
whole  tribe  of  Northern  Cheyennes  (more  than 
1200)  under  Old  Two  Moons  of  Custer  battle 
fame,  arrived  on  Sunday,  the  twelfth,  thus  keeping 
up  the  great  procession  that  characterised  the  day, 
as  the  Pryors,  Big  Horns  and  Lodge  Grass  Crows 
all  reached  the  Agency. 

"  A  noticeable  feature  was  the  transportation  of 
tepee  poles  on  farm  wagons,  which  was  not  nearly 
so  artistic  as  the  old  way  of  fastening  one  end  to  a 
pack  horse  and  letting  the  other  drag  on  the  ground. 
For  many  hours  they  passed  in  steady  stream,  mak- 
ing one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  a  truly 
unique  event.  It  was  a  remarkable  sight  to  an 
outsider,  the  long  files  of  loaded  trams,  ponies,  lum- 

156 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

ber  wagons,  all  winding  their  way  slowly  over  the 
hills  from  three  different  directions,  into  and 
through  the  Agency,  and  on  eastward  over  the  river 
to  their  camping  ground. 

"  In  the  camps  all  was  orderly  confusion,  great 
activity  and  pleasant  excitement.  Tepees  and  tents 
arose  on  every  side,  the  camp  criers  adding  to  the 
general  stir  and  hum  of  life,  to  which  innumerable 
dogs  added  a  big  share.  Each  district  had  its  par- 
ticular location  with  its  medicine  tepee  in  the  midst. 
These  are  all  painted  a  terra  cotta  and  have  some 
symbolic  design,  including  the  medicine  pipe.  A 
large  dance  tent  and  the  poles  of  a  tobacco  dance 
tepee  were  also  a  feature  of  each  district  village. 
Monday  morning  found  the  camp  details  completed, 
and  presenting  a  beautiful  sight,  with  the  handsome 
tepees  clustered  in  district  groups  among  the  au- 
tumn tinted  trees,  the  brownish  grey  hills  forming 
a  perfect  background,  while  bright  days  gave  that 
peculiarly,  clear  atmosphere  condition  that  makes 
this  climate  an  ideal  one  for  such  scenes  during  In- 
dian summer.  Artists  and  artistic  photographers 
were  in  ecstacies  of  delight  over  Nature's  finishing 
touch  to  the  fine  effect  produced  by  these  children 
who  live  so  close  to  her  heart.  Bright  colours  and 
fantastic  costumes  all  combined  to  make  one  long 
for  the  powers  to  reproduce  the  picture  for  the 
benefit  of  others.  Driving  from  district  to  district, 
the  Black  Lodge,  Reno  Lodge  Grass,  Big  Horn  and 

157 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

Pryor  Crows,  the  Cheyenne  and  Sioux  encamp- 
ments, we  could  but  realize  how  much  freedom, 
fresh  air  and  sunshine  meant  to  these  people,  and 
how  truly  the  average  eye  is  pleased  with  bright 
colours  and  spectacular  display.  This  was  especially 
noticeable  during  the  night  dances,  when  painted 
bodies  and  all  the  paraphernalia  used  on  such  occa- 
sions formed  a  never  ending  source  of  amusement  to 
the  white  visitors  who  were  on  the  ground  in  large 
numbers  all  the  week,  many  camping  near  the  In- 
dians. Perfect  moonlight  nights  added  comfort 
and  beauty  to  the  occasion.  Friday  night  the  dances 
were  held  in  the  open  air  around  a  huge  camp- 
fire,  and  the  dancers  from  all  the  various  villages 
(about  a  thousand  in  all)  took  part  at  once.  This 
was  a  very  weird  and  beautiful  scene,  making  a 
much  finer  spectacle  than  those  given  other  nights 
in  dance  tents,  each  district  for  itself.  Those  who 
arose  early  enough  to  see  the  camp  astir  and  watch 
the  preparations  for  and  partaking  of,  the  primitive 
meals,  felt  well  repaid  for  the  sight;  while  every 
effort  was  made  to  see  the  camp  by  fire  and  moon- 
light, even  those  who  had  long  wearied  of  dances 
found  this  too  beautiful  to  forego. 

"  The  festivities  were  opened  Monday  morning 
with  a  tobacco  and  medicine  dance  at  each  village, 
thus  propitiating  their  gods  for  the  Fair  and  for  the 
coming  year.  Each  day's  program  was  started 

158  ' 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

with  a  grand  parade  formed  in  the  camp  and  headed 
by  all  the  great  chiefs,  with  Plenty  coos  at  the  head 
carrying  the  American  flag,  followed  by  a  squad  of 
police,  headed  by  Captain  Big  Medicine  carrying 
the  flag  of  the  tribe,  and  lieutenants  Fire  Bear  and 
Scolds  Bear. 

"  Next  came  the  band  composed  of  Indian  school 
children  (a  band  which  would  do  credit  to  a  town 
of  10,000  inhabitants).  Then  followed  camp  In- 
dians, in  carriages,  wagons,  and  on  horseback;  the 
school  children,  the  old  people,  camp  followers  and 
visiting  Indians  bringing  up  the  rear,  making  a  pro- 
cession over  two  miles  long.  It  was  a  sight  to  be 
remembered;  the  various  costumes,  war  bonnets, 
blankets,  police  uniforms,  elk-tooth  dresses,  school 
garbs  and  citizens'  clothes,  making  a  wondrous  ex- 
hibition. The  formal  line  of  march  included  a  visit 
to  each  district,  and  a  stop  at  the  villages  of  visiting 
tribes,  where  the  usual  ceremonies  were  performed 
in  their  honour. 

"  One  of  the  loveliest  sights  was  that  of  the  pro- 
cession crossing  the  Little  Horn  River,  where  the 
clear  water  reflected  the  brilliant  pageant,  enhancing 
its  beauty  manifold.  All  this  is  supposed  to  be  a 
minor  consideration  of  the  Fair;  but  what  visitor 
ever  gave  it  the  second  place  ?  However,  of  the  Fair 
proper,  its  races  and  industral  displays,  there  was  no 
need  to  be  ashamed.  The  tickets  were  on  sale  at 

159 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

the  rear  of  the  trader's  store  on  the  only  direct  road 
to  the  fair  grounds.  The  crowds  were  so  great  that 
the  tickets  could  not  be  sold  fast  enough  to  admit 
attendance  at  all  the  races,  so  after  the  first  day, 
the  tickets  were  on  sale  before  noon  to  enable  the 
people  to  reach  the  grand-stand  in  good  season. 
It  took  more  than  two  hours  for  the  main  body  of 
Fair  visitors  to  pass  through  the  entrance. 

"  The  entire  management  of  the  Fair  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  committee  composed  entirely  of  Crow 
Indians,  who  had  been  selected  in  Indian  council; 
and  it  was  much  better  managed  than  many  county 
fairs,  due  to  the  advice  of  their  energetic  agent, 
Major  Reynolds.  This  industrial  Fair  is  one  of 
the  many  things  that  Major  Reynolds  has  inaugu- 
rated to  help  elevate  and  encourage  the  Indians' 
industrial  work.  It  is  prophesied  by  many,  as  well 
as  ourselves,  that  this  Fair  will  be  one  of  the  great- 
est exhibitions  of  the  state,  if  it  increases  propor- 
tionately the  next  five  years  as  it  has  in  the  past 
three.  We  must  congratulate  Major  Reynolds  for 
this  originality;  for  while  two  or  three  tribes  have 
"Annual  Meets/'  with  dancing  and  horse  racing, 
as  a  feature,  we  are  sure  that  this  is  the  first  to  make 
a  point  of  the  industrial  side,  and  we  are  acquainted 
with  Indians  and  their  doings  in  general.  An  in- 
spector assures  us  that  this  is  the  only  thing  of  its 
kind  in  the  United  States.  Some  Indians  exhibit 
at  fairs  conducted  by  white  people,  but  this  is  the 

160 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

only  place  where  the  Indians  really  run  a  fair,  take 
the  gate  receipts,  and  have  full  charge  of  everything. 

"  The  relay  races  were  particularly  enjoyable,  and 
the  crowd  went  wild  over  the  bucking  bronco  riding, 
and  that  of  the  school  girls  and  boys.  Charles  M. 
Bair  gave  special  prizes  for  school  children,  the 
other  prizes  being  paid  for  from  gate  receipts. 

"  But  to  the  industrial  display :  The  large  building 
used  for  this  purpose  exhibited  the  products  and 
work,  in  sections,  for  each  district  and  the  four 
schools  on  the  reservation.  The  government  school 
at  the  Agency  attracted,  particular  attention  for 
the  beauty  and  variety  of  exhibits.  Basketry  made 
from  sweet  grass,  raffia  and  willow,  was  one  of 
the  important  features.  Visitors  attested  their  ap- 
preciation by  orders  for  goods.  Black  Lodge 
Grass,  Pryor  and  Mission  schools  each  showed  good 
work.  Black  Lodge  made  the  most  artistic  display 
of  any  of  the  districts,  while  Lodge  Grass  exhibited 
a  greater  variety  of  products.  Every  one  was  as- 
tonished at  the  fineness  of  the  exhibit,  especially  at 
the  size  and  quality  of  the  pumpkins,  squashes  and 
potatoes  —  the  potatoes  causing  comment  more 
than  anything  else.  Many  experienced  farmers 
said  they  were  the  finest  potatoes  that  they  had  ever 
seen  at  any  place.  Louis  Bompard's  prize  pigs  at- 
tracted attention,  as  did.  Mrs.  Gordon's  turkeys  and 
chickens.  Jellies,  pies,  bread,  butter,  cake,  all  looked 
fine  enough  to  please  any  housewife's  soul.  Truly 

161 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

nothing  could  so  inspire  effort  to  raise  the  Indians' 
love  for  industrial  pursuits  as  this  plan  so  success- 
fully adopted  by  the  Agent  of  the  Crows. 

"  Five  prize  tepees  were  of  great  interest  to  visi- 
tors, they  were  so  beautifully  kept,  so  artistically 
furnished  and  of  such  magnificent  proportions,  be- 
ing much  larger  than  usual.  The  tepee  poles  shone 
as  if  they  had  been  polished  every  day  for  weeks. 
The  tepee  is  certainly  a  thing  of  beauty,  and  my 
Indian  lady  well  knows  how  to  adorn  it,  in  keeping 
with  its  purpose,  the  walls  being  hung  with  Indian 
work  of  all  sorts. 

"  Saturday  was  pronounced  the  best  day  of  all. 
In  the  morning  the  convention  was  held,  where  all 
business  pertaining  to  the  Fair  was  settled  and 
officers  appointed  for  the  next  year.  Horses  and 
people  showed  effects  of  the  strenuous  week,  but 
by  two  o'clock  were  at  the  closing  exercises,  the 
dance  of  the  Sioux  and  the  Cheyennes,  at  the  dis- 
trict villages  in  honour  of  the  Crows.  The  hand- 
some head  dress  and  garb  of  the  Sioux  caused  much 
excitement,  as  well  as  comment.  They  gave  in 
the  open  space  of  each  village  a  mimic  war  dance 
and  sham  battle.  The  motley  crowd  in  wagons,  on 
horse  and  on  foot,  which  pressed  close  up  on  the 
dancers,  often  requiring  the  marshal's  attention  to 
keep  them  back,  moved  rapidly  and  seemingly  in 
solid  mass  with  the  dancers  in  their  rapid  march 
from  village  to  village,  make  as  great  a  picture  as 

162 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

the  dance  itself.  At  one  time  the  marshals  led  the 
way  to  an  open  space  before  the  Agent's  team  and 
the  ceremonies  performed  there  in  his  honour.  This 
particularly  pleased  many  visitors  who  had  fre- 
quently commented  upon  Agent  Reynolds'  unassum- 
ing conduct,  always  taking  his  chance  with  other 
people,  and  never  asserting  any  more  rights  to  see 
or  be  seen  than  the  lowliest  visitor,  this  particular 
notice  being  entirely  unsought.  Before  all  the  vil- 
ages  had  been  visited,  about  thirty  Crows,  represent- 
ing a  war  party  in  full  war  regalia,  mounted  on 
decorated  horses  and  dressed  with  handsome 
beaded  blankets  and  fine  head  dresses,  rode  to 
the  hills,  there  breaking  up  into  small  groups 
and  scattering  through  ravines  and  down  hill- 
sides hunting  for  the  enemy.  It  was  a  fascinating 
sight  to  see  them  winding  in  and  out  on  the 
hills  ever  on  the  alert,  searching  for  the  un- 
known foe  till  finally  the  search  was  given  up, 
the  enemy  not  being  in  sight.  Returning,  they 
dismounted,  making  an  impressive  sight  in  their 
picturesque  groupings  upon  the  grey  background 
with  their  harmonious  colours.  Soon  they  re- 
mounted and  charged  upon  the  village,  surrounding 
the  camp,  winding  in  and  out  in  the  manner  of  ye 
olden  days,  when  they  run  the  people  out  of  camp. 
After  this  mad  ride  they  gathered  at  a  certain  point 
and  gave  a  buffalo  dance,  part  of  it  being  enacted 
on  horseback.  A  striking  feature  of  this  part  was, 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

one  of  the  players  would  fling  away  a  war  bonnet, 
or  some  other  part  of  their  fine  costume,  and  the 
wild  scramble  that  ensued  to  secure  it.  Dismount- 
ing, they  danced  in  full  abandon  to  the  music,  thus 
finishing  the  ceremonies  with  all  the  zeal  of  an 
Indian's  love  for  a  telling  climax." 

Since  the  above  was  written,  the  last  two  years 
the  Navajo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  have  also  had 
a  Fair,  of  which  the  Board  of  Indian  Commission- 
ers says  in  its  report  for  1910,  "  The  influence  of 
the  Crow  and  Navajo  Indian  Agricultural  Fairs 
will  be  far-reaching,  we  believe;  and  we  trust  that 
many  superintendents  will  at  once  enter  upon  simi- 
lar plans  with  the  Indians  who  are  under  their 
supervision." 

Hon.  James  S.  Sherman,  ex-Vice  President  of  the 
United  States  in  an  address  before  the  Lake  Mo- 
honk  conference,  in  1911,  said,  "  Until  half  a  century 
ago,  the  minds  of  the  people  and  the  government 
were  so  occupied  with  other  matters,  that  the  man- 
agement of  the  Indian  problem  was  neither  sys- 
tematic nor  effective.  Since  then,  however,  we  have 
conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Indians  systematically 
and  progressively.  Every  agreement  between  the 
Indians  and  the  government  has  been  carried  out; 
honest  and  intelligent  supervision,  coupled  with 
kind  yet  firm  discipline,  has  brought  them  to  a  state 
of  contentment;  millions  of  dollars  spent  for  their 
education  and  their  industrial  welfare  have  been 

164 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

well  invested,  as  evidenced  by  their  progress  along 
lines  of  civilization.  I  am  sincere  in  the  belief  that 
the  progress  of  the  American  Indian  in  the  last 
fifty  years  has  been  greater,  numbers  considered, 
in  all  paths  leading  to  enlightenment  and  better- 
ment of  condition,  than  that  of  any  uneducated  peo- 
ple on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

The  Hon.  John  G.  Brady  also  gives  a  similar 
testimony  and  tribute  in  speaking  of  the  Alaskan 
Indians  of  to-day,  in  contrast  with  what  they  were 
in  1877.  "They  are  not  manufacturing  rum;  they 
are  not  torturing  and  putting  witches  to  the  stake ; 
they  are  not  holding  and  dealing  in  slaves.  The 
old  communal  structure  and  the  icht,  or  Shaman, 
have  disappeared.  In  their  stead  one  beholds  the 
single  family  dwelling  and  the  visits  of  the  phy- 
sician at  the  call  of  the  sick.  The  canoe  and  the 
paddle  are  giving  way  to  the  more  serviceable  boat 
ribbed  with  oak  and  sheathed  with  spruce  or  red 
cedar,  and  propelled  by  oars  or  gasolene.  Young 
men  are  carpenters,  machinists,  smiths,  shoemak- 
ers, coopers,  boat  builders,  miners,  engineers  on  land 
and  water;  young  women  eagerly  pursue  the  do- 
mestic arts  as  one  can  see  when  he  enters  a  home 
and  beholds  the  children  and  surroundings.  That 
they  have  changed  is  well  established  by  a  visit  to 
the  store  which  supplies  their  wants.  The  character 
of  the  old  trading  post  can  no  longer  be  discerned; 
flour,  sugar,  tea,  coffee,  cured  meats,  fresh  fruits, 

165 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

canned  goods  of  all  kinds  even  to  salmon,  tables, 
chairs,  bedsteads,  bureaus,  cooking  stoves,  pictures, 
musical  instruments,  ready-made  suits,  fine  coffins 
—  factory  made,  knives  and  forks,  and  cups  and 
saucers,  are  all  kept  by  the  merchant  who  caters  to 
the  trade.  I  should  say  a  word  as  to  their  patriot- 
ism. They  know  from  their  own  experience  the 
difference  between  Russia  and  the  United  States, 
and  the  young  generations  have  been  taught  from 
our  school  histories.  Almost  every  family  has  a 
fine  American  flag,  and  on  all  gala  days  it  is  flung 
to  the  breeze.  Nearly  every  large  house  has  a  flag 
pole.  They  observe  Memorial  Day  and  the  Fourth 
of  July  with  great  interest.  I  am  confident  the 
country  could  find  no  more  willing  and  braver  de- 
fenders if  their  services  were  asked." 

From  all  these  records  and  testimonies  it  must 
be  manifest  that  the  Indian's  moral  sensibilities  are 
not  so  hardened,  that  he  is  incapable  of  reaching 
citizenship,  or  beyond  the  possibility  of  redemption. 
Both  in  an  industrial  and  religious  way,  he  is  a 
willing  learner,  and  can  be  made  a  desirable  citizen 
and  faithful  Christian. 

If  the  results  are  not  commensurate  with  the  la- 
bours and  money  expended  on  his  behalf,  a  partial 
explanation  may  be  discovered  in  the  fact  that  na- 
tions are  not  born  in  a  day,  nor  are  they  lifted  from 
paganism  to  civilization  in  a  generation.  "  When 
the  Gothic  tribes  swarmed  down  upon  the  civiliza- 

166 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

tion  of  the  feeble  Roman  Empire,  they  had  already 
been  under  the  influence  of  Christian  teachers,  some 
of  them  for  fully  one  hundred  years,  and  yet  Pro- 
fessor George  Burton  Adams  says  they  had  hardly 
attained  a  condition  as  advanced  as  that  in  which 
some  of  the  better  Indian  tribes  were  when  Colum- 
bus discovered  America. 

"  Some  of  these  European  races  who  were  ex- 
posed to  a  better  environment,  and  perhaps  endowed 
with  superior  natural  talents,  advanced  to  a  toler- 
able fair  state  of  civilization  within  two  hundred 
years,  but  the  work  of  civilizing  Europe  and  bring- 
ing the  mass  of  the  barbarians  under  the  subjection 
of  law,  and  to  something  approaching  a  true  civiliza- 
tion, was  the  work  of  fully  one  thousand  years." 
(Hon.  John  J.  Delany,  an  address  before  the  Lake 
Mohonk  Conference,  1907.) 

The  superior  material  aids  and  better  facilities 
for  spiritual  conquest  of  the  present  century,  ought 
to  make  the  work  of  barbarian  evangelization  much 
easier  and  warrant  a  greater  assurance  of  speedier 
accomplishment  than  in  former  years;  but  we  need 
not  expect  the  completion  of  so  great  an  undertak- 
ing in  one  or  two  generations. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  greatest  success  in 
redeeming  the  red  man  has  been  attained  by  those 
missionaries  who  have  been  in  the  work  from  ten 
to  fifty  years,  and  the  greatest  of  all  by  those  who 
have  given  their  lives  to  the  Indian's  salvation. 

167 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

As  a  concluding  suggestion,  which  is  not  intended 
to  imply  criticism,  the  most  important  thing  in  the 
present  stage  of  missionary  development  among  the 
Indians,  is  not  more  money,  but  that  it  be  more 
economically  and  wisely  used;  not  more  mission- 
aries, but  a  better  quality  of  them ;  for  quality,  not 
quantity  is  the  great  need  for  more  rapid  develop- 
ment and  progress.  Men  and  women  who  will 
make  it  their  life  work,  who  have  vision  and  sym- 
pathetic hearts,  who  will  give  practical  expression 
and  direction  to  gospel  truth.  Right  thinking  and 
right  feeling  can  only  find  appropriate  expression 
in  welldoing.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  In- 
dian problem,  like  some  other  racial  problems,  does 
not  consist  in  the  large  number  involved,  but  rather 
because  they  are  spread  over  such  a  large  territory. 

On  the  West  Coast  they  reach  from  Arizona  to 
Alaska;  on  the  East  from  New  York  to  Florida, 
and  along  the  Rockies  from  Mexico  to  Canada. 
This  makes  the  work  more  expensive  and  more 
difficult  than  if  located  in  more  limited  territory. 

Again,  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  secret  of 
success  in  redeeming  the  red  man  is  very  much 
the  same  as  it  is  in  the  redemption  of  other  men. 
It  requires  constant,  persevering  and  self-sacrificing 
devotion.  The  missionary  must  carry  with  him 
something  more  than  a  Bible.  He  must  take  the 
hoe  and  the  plough,  as  well  as  phylacteries  and  min- 
isterial garb.  Our  Saviour  not  only  had  compas- 

168 


REDEMPTION  OF  THE  RED  MAN 

sion,  but  he  was  moved  with  compassion,  because 
the  people  were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  So  let 
the  church  of  the  living  God  be  moved  with  com- 
passion, untiring  patience  and  increasing  effort, 
anticipating  the  glorious  triumph  of  the  saving  truth 
of  the  Gospel,  which  is  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation to  every  one  that  believeth. 


169 


CHAPTER  VIII 
RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

THE  decadence  of  the  country  church   in 
eastern  states  strikes  a  note  of  alarm  for 
the  religious  life  of  rural  communities  in 
every  part  of  our  country.     In  the  great  forward 
movement,  country  districts  and  small  villages  as  a 
general  rule,  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  progressive 
spirit  evident  in  large  centres  of  population. 

The  farmer  has  not  been  tardy  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  new  and  labour  saving  machinery,  for  tilling 
the  soil.  Backwardness  is  especially  manifested 
in  lack  of  economic  domestic  conditions,  and  in- 
difference to  organizations  that  are  for  the  general 
interests  of  community  life. 

In  more  thickly  settled  districts,  rural  delivery 
and  telephone  advantages  are  generally  enjoyed. 
But  while  the  farmer  is  using  all  modern  machinery 
to  do  his  work,  the  housewife  is  doing  hers  very 
much  as  she  did  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  slav- 
ery of  old  household  methods  has  been  very  little 
lessened.  Modern  machinery  enables  the  farmer 
to  till  larger  acreage,  with  much  less  cost  of  manual 

170 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

labour,  but  the  housewife  with  few  conveniences 
toils  laboriously  as  ever,  from  early  morning  till 
late  at  night.  The  home  has  come  to  be  looked 
upon  too  much  as  simply  a  feeding  and  sleeping 
place.  While  machinery  has  lightened  labour,  it 
has  not  shortened  labour  hours  for  the  farmer. 
The  possibility  of  cultivating  more  acres  has  in- 
creased the  lust  for  material  gain.  Both  in  the 
kitchen  and  on  the  farm  all  efforts  seem  to  be  put 
forth  under  the  inspiration  of  this  sordid  motive. 
It  has  thus  come  to  pass  that  the  farmer's  horizon 
is  widened  only  in  the  direction  of  selfish  pursuit. 
The  general  welfare  of  the  community  in  which 
he  lives,  is  lost  sight  of  through  complete  absorp- 
tion of  individual  interests. 

A  charitable  interpretation  of  this  growing  lack 
of  community  interests  in  rural  population,  is  ac- 
counted for  not  so  much  by  indifference  as  for  want 
of  leadership.  But  whatever  may  be  the  excuse, 
local  and  civic  pride  are  suppressed  through  selfish 
direction  of  individual  energy.  The  ethical,  moral 
and  religious  needs  of  life  are  sacrificed  to  the 
mammon  of  material  gain.  The  story  of  the  rich 
farmer  losing  his  soul,  while  planning  and  build- 
ing larger  barns,  is  repeated. 

But  this  chapter  is  intended  to  speak  especially 
of  rural  conditions  in  the  West.  While  many 
things  are  found  in  common,  the  West  differs  from 
the  East  in  several  particulars. 

171 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

First,  in  the  West  rural  population  is  scattered 
over  a  very  large  territory.  Land  being  cheap, 
large  tracts  are  easily  possessed.  Neighbours  are 
distant  from  each  other,  and  schools  are  small  in 
proportion  as  farms  are  large.  A  few  rich  valleys 
might  be  mentioned  as  exceptions,  where  land  is 
more  valuable  and  population  more  compact.  This 
fact  makes  it  difficult  to  sustain  religious  organiza- 
tions and  increases  the  tendency  to  exclusiveness. 
The  difficulty  in  fostering  community  interests  in 
such  conditions,  increases  proportionately  to  the 
sparsity  of  the  settlements. 

Second,  the  West  is  new.  There  are  no  old 
settlements  in  the  West.  There  are  no  decadent 
churches.  Our  work  is  that  of  building,  not  re- 
pairing. We  have  not  come  to  the  twenty-fifth 
birthday  of  our  country  churches,  and  most  of 
them  have  scarcely  reached  school  age.  They  pos- 
sess the  vigour  of  youth,  the  buoyancy  of  early 
manhood  and  the  hopefulness  of  wonderful  growth. 

Third,  the  West  has  an  advantage  over  the 
East,  in  that  denominational  rivalry  is  not  so  mani- 
fest as  in  old  settled  communities.  In  small  vil- 
lages and  country  places,  the  people  show  a 
disposition  to  lay  aside  sectarian  preferences,  and 
a  willingness  to  cooperate  with  any  Christian  ef- 
fort that  is  for  the  common  good.  This  is  an 
advanced  step  in  solving  the  problem  of  the  coun- 
try church.  Persons  going  West  cut  loose  from 

172 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

hide-bound  traditions  when  they  left  their  homes 
and  roamed  over  the  vast  areas  spread  out  around 
them.  There  is  bigness  in  the  stretch  of  the  plains, 
newness  in  the  forest  and  prairie,  and  generousness 
in  the  soil,  that  broadens  life.  The  rural  districts 
on  these  wide  plains  and  among  the  hills,  may  yet 
become  a  demonstration  of  ideal  country  life.  If 
so,  it  will  likely  be  done  along  certain  lines  of  pro- 
gressiveness. 

First,  the  country  school  will  adopt  a  different 
course  of  study  than  that  of  the  city.  Both  have 
their  own  problems  as  varied  as  their  surroundings. 
Certain  elementary  studies  will  no  doubt  be  the 
same  in  all  schools,  but  beyond  the  elementary, 
subjects  for  study  should  be  chosen  which  will 
most  interest  as  well  as  help  the  scholars  to  meet 
conditions  of  their  immediate  environment. 

It  is  a  very  common  complaint  that  so  many  of 
our  country  young  people  are  flocking  to  the  cit- 
ies. To  them  city  life  has  more  attractions  than 
the  country.  The  only  way  to  counteract  this 
tendency  is  to  change  the  situation  so  that  the 
country  may  become  more  attractive.  It  passes 
our  understanding  why  some  people  are  willing  to 
live  in  the  city,  apparently  for  no  other  reason  than 
to  be  near  the  bright  lights  and  the  crowd.  Tucked 
away  in  a  few  rooms  at  the  back  end  of  a  dirty 
tenement  building,  without  sunlight,  trees  or  even 
a  view  of  mother  earth,  your  neighbours  you  may 

173 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

not  know  to  speak  to,  without  friends  who  care 
little  whether  you  live  or  die,  brought  in  touch 
every  day  with  all  manner  of  poverty  and  degrada- 
tion,—  this  is  city  life  for  the  man  and  woman 
who  lives  on  a  small  wage  in  the  large  cities.  The 
longer  one  lives  that  way,  the  less  fit  one  becomes 
for  any  sort  of  life. 

Compare  these  conditions  with  the  average  farm 
life  of  the  Northwest.  It  is  like  coming  out  of  the 
pest  house  into  God's  out-of-doors.  What  sensible 
man  or  woman,  working  out  a  practical  destiny, 
would  be  willing  to  exchange  the  one  for  the  other  ? 
The  city  needs  the  country,  and  the  country  needs 
the  city.  Without  the  country  from  which  to 
draw  fresh  blood  occasionally,  (it  has  been  said) 
the  cities  would  perish  from  mere  corruption. 
Country  life  may  mean  hard  work,  it  may  mean 
isolation,  but  does  not  mean  poor  compensation; 
it  is,  to  say  the  least,  healthy.  It  breeds  sane  men 
and  women.  Rural  life  is  the  backbone  of  Ameri- 
can citizenship.  The  true  perspective  of  city  life, 
the  bad  with  the  good,  to  the  thinking  man,  to 
the  man  who  appreciates  the  advantages  of  life  on 
the  farm,  would  have  little  attraction.  An  old 
farmer  once  remarked,  after  a  visit  to  the  city, 
"  that  the  more  he  saw  of  some  people  the  more  he 
liked  his  hogs." 

There  is  however  another  view.  While  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  past  has  been  rural  and  agricultural, 

174 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

that  of  the  future  will  be  more  largely  of  the  city. 
In  this  age  of  the  world,  we  cannot,  and  would 
not  if  we  could  stop  the  flow  of  country  blood  into 
the  city.  The  tendency  is  stimulated  by  the  appli- 
cation of  machinery,  which  now  enables  four  men 
in  the  country  to  do  what  required  fourteen  for- 
merly. This  decreases  the  number  required  to  do 
a  certain  amount  of  work  in  the  country,  and  in- 
creases the  demand  for  more  men  in  industrial  cen- 
tres. But  for  those  who  are  required  to  meet 
increasing  supplies  for  growing  industrial  centres, 
the  country  should  be  made  so  attractive  that  it  will 
be  adopted  from  choice,  not  from  necessity.  This 
is  an  educational  process  and  a  small  beginning  has 
already  been  made. 

A  few  of  the  Western  states  have  accomplished 
something  very  practical  in  this  direction.  To  in- 
terest the  boys  and  girls  in  fanning  and  domestic 
science,  so  that  they  will  not  be  so  eager  to  leave 
the  farm  for  the  false  allurements  of  the  cities,  the 
State  Fair  Association  of  Montana  has  provided 
for  an  encampment  of  a  certain  number  of  boys 
and  girls  from  each  county.  The  boys  are 
awarded  prizes  for  agricultural  products  of  their 
own  raising,  and  the  girls  are  encouraged  to  com- 
pete for  prizes  in  some  branch  of  domestic  science. 
Aside  from  prizes  awarded,  the  State  Agricultural 
School  through  its  professors,  furnished  instruction 
certain  hours  during  Fair  week.  Thus  they  are 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

privileged  to  inspect  farm  products  from  all  parts 
of  the  state,  and  hear  lectures  given  by  experts  on 
poultry  raising,  dairying,  live  stock  diseases  and 
farm  machinery.  This  is  only  an  initiative  to- 
wards introducing  in  the  public  school  system  a 
special  course  of  study  for  country  schools.  Sev- 
eral other  states  have  adopted  a  similar  plan  as  the 
above  mentioned,  and  in  every  instance  the  experi- 
ment has  proved  satisfactory. 

At  present  the  course  of  study  for  country 
schools  is  the  same  as  that  in  the  city,  but  the  coun- 
try schools  should  be  for  country  children,  and  the 
city  schools  for  city  children.  Human  nature  is 
just  the  same  in  the  country  as  in  the  city,  but 
means  and  methods  used  in  the  city,  beyond  a  cer- 
tain elementary  stage,  should  be  greatly  modified 
for  the  country.  It  would  certainly  prove  to  be 
one  way  of  making  country  life  more  attractive, 
if  in  the  country  school,  the  science  of  dairying, 
dry  farming,  rotation  of  crops,  the  importance  of 
good  seed,  soil  chemistry,  bee  culture  and  other 
such  practical  subjects  were  taught. 

By  this  means  the  minds  of  young  people  may 
be  brought  into  intimate  knowledge  of  the  beauty 
and  wealth  of  the  land.  It  would  train  the  coun- 
try youth  in  all  the  social  practices  that  foster  con- 
tentment and  good  fellowship.  Rural  renaissance 
will  come  through  the  young  people,  and  the  coun- 
try school  can  be  made  a  very  important  factor  in 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

bringing  about  this  transformation.  What  does  it 
mean  for  the  future  of  our  country  when  boys  and 
girls  who  advance  above  the  eighth  grade,  have  to 
go  into  towns  for  their  education.  It  means  not 
only  that  country  schools  should  teach  agriculture, 
but  that  they  should  interpret  to  the  children  the 
beauty  and  the  inspiration  of  God's  great  out-doors. 

Second,  farm  life  would  become  more  attract- 
ive, especially  for  girls,  by  improvements  in  house- 
hold economy.  Here  again  the  West  affords 
exceptional  opportunities  for  better  conditions. 
The  mountain  streams  and  springs  so  numerous 
are  in  many  instances  easily  conveyed  into  the 
house,  so  as  to  have  the  luxury  of  running  water 
of  the  purest  kind.  Drainage  is  very  simple.  Hot 
and  cold  water  may  be  available  in  most  country 
homes  along  the  Rockies,  and  at  much  less  cost 
than  in  the  cities.  Yet  these  conveniences  are  not 
thought  of  by  hundreds  who  might  have  them  were 
they  taught  the  comforts  they  afford.  Many  farm 
houses  I  have  frequently  visited  in  my  missionary 
work,  have  water  piped  into  the  barnyard  for  the 
horses,  cattle  and  hogs,  but  the  thought  of  having 
it  in  the  house  for  the  use  of  the  wife,  had  not 
dawned  in  the  mind  of  the  farmer,  as  an  advantage 
within  reach. 

Third,  better  roads  would  add  much  to  the 
attractiveness  of  country  life.  The  rancher  in  the 
West  will  perhaps  awaken  sooner  to  the  economy 

177 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

of  good  roads,  than  the  eastern  farmer,  because  of 
long  distance  to  market  and  exceptionally  good  soil 
for  roadmaking.  It  takes  a  long  time  to  teach  the 
fanner  that  bad  roads  rob  him  of  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  his  hard  earned  profits.  Perhaps  he  is  not 
so  ignorant  of  the  fact,  as  he  is  apathetic  in  co- 
operative attempts  to  remedy  it.  In  many  instances 
half  a  mile  of  poor  roadway  easily  repaired,  in- 
creases transportation  expenses  twenty-five  per 
cent. 

Fourth,  cooperative  organization  would  add 
much  to  the  attractiveness,  as  well  as  profits  of  farm 
life.  The  rural  population  is  slowly  but  surely 
making  progress  in  this  direction.  Philanthropists 
were  interested  in  the  awakening  of  local  and  civic 
pride  in  cities,  before  the  needs  of  the  country  were 
seriously  considered.  One  of  the  glaring  sins  of 
the  country  both  east  and  west,  is  the  lack  of  local 
and  civic  pride.  Ambition  for  a  higher  life  in  the 
direction  of  moral  and  religious  uplift,  does  not 
take  a  very  strong  hold  on  the  average  country  com- 
munity. 

The  city  leads  in  that  kind  of  improvement  that 
can  only  be  fostered  by  cooperative  endeavour.  It 
is  nevertheless  encouraging  that  at  present  both  the 
church  and  philanthropists  are  awakening  to  the 
crying  need  for  something  to  be  done,  and  done 
quickly,  for  the  moral  salvation  of  the  country. 

The  Country  Life  Commission  appointed  by  Ex- 
178 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

President  Roosevelt  has  attracted  public  attention, 
and  no  doubt  inaugurated  a  new  interest  in  im- 
provement of  conditions  in  rural  life.  This  Com- 
mission has  at  least  initiated  a  movement  that  will 
result  in  incalculable  value  for  the  moral  welfare, 
social  life  and  industrial  conditions  of  country  com- 
munities. 

The  conservation  of  religious  life  in  the  rural 
West,  while  in  the  formative  period,  is  one  of  the 
most  pressing  demands  along  the  line  of  home  mis- 
sionary endeavor.  If  it  is  ever  to  be  done,  now  is 
the  time  to  do  it. 

Along  the  bench  lands  and  valleys  of  the  Rockies, 
there  are  settlements  composed  mostly  of  families 
from  the  Middle  States.  One  deprivation  they 
sorely  feel  in  these  new  settlements  is  lack  of  church 
privileges.  If  the  church  habit  can  be  continued  in 
these  new  conditions,  it  is  likely  to  remain  steadfast, 
but  a  year  or  two  of  their  absence  results  too  often 
in  settled  indifference  and  neglect. 

Recently,  the  writer  has  had  an  experience  on  the 
field  that  illustrates  the  above  statement. 

Two  country  communities  only  ten  miles  apart 
are  the  subjects  of  the  following  observations. 
The  one  is  an  old  country  village  (old  in  the  west) 
where  ranchmen  and  stockmen  have  been  settled  a 
number  of  years  without  any  church  privileges  or 
religious  influence.  Through  the  interest  of  a 
Christian  family  recently  from  the  East,  my  atten- 

179 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

tion  was  called  to  their  spiritual  neglect.  This  field 
has  been  visited  four  times  and  as  many  religious 
services  held.  All  in  the  village  and  nearly  all  the 
ranchmen  have  been  visited  or  interviewed  within 
a  radius  of  seven  miles.  Among  the  old  settlers  it 
seemed  almost  impossible  to  awaken  interest  in  re- 
ligious matters.  Most  of  them  have  been  greatly 
prospered  in  worldly  affairs,  and  many  have  become 
rich  in  herds  of  sheep,  cattle  and  large  tracts  of 
land.  By  gathering  a  nucleus  of  a  few  recent 
settlers,  a  regular  service  has  been  established  and 
a  church  of  ten  members  organized.  Most  of  the 
people  were  willing  to  subscribe  towards  the  ma- 
terial support  of  the  church,  but  would  not  promise 
to  attend  religious  service.  Several  of  them  when 
invited,  said,  "  they  had  not  been  to  church  for  so 
long  that  they  would  not  know  how  to  behave."  In 
this  instance  we  have  a  church  liberally  supported 
so  far  as  the  financial  part  is  concerned,  but  dis- 
couragingly  sustained  in  attendance  and  spiritual 
interest.  Perseverance,  constant  endeavour  and 
wise  administration  will  no  doubt  in  time  change  the 
moral  atmosphere  and  create  a  religious  interest. 
The  old  inhabitants  will  soon  pass  away,  joined  to 
their  idols  in  death,  as  they  have  been  in  life,  but 
the  young  men  and  women,  through  social  organi- 
zation and  influence  of  the  church,  may  be  trained 
for  something  higher  and  better  than  that  for  which 
their  fathers  lived.  The  process  will  be  slow  and 

180 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

discouraging.  The  fixed  indifference  and  almost 
absolute  neglect  of  religion  through  one  generation 
cannot  be  changed  in  a  day.  The  only  entertain- 
ment this  community  has  enjoyed,  the  only  social 
function  bringing  them  together  for  the  last  twenty 
years,  has  been  the  country  dance,  an  established 
institution,  liberally  patronized  for  many  miles 
distant.  Three  saloons  have  flourished,  in  which 
three  murders  were  committed  in  two  years.  On 
account  of  their  bad  repute  the  Commissioners  were 
compelled  to  close  them  down  and  took  from  them 
their  retail  license.  At  present  only  two  saloons 
exist  with  a  wholesale  license,  which  does  not  allow 
drinking  on  the  premises.  Can  any  one  imagine  a 
more  serious  task  than  to  undertake  the  regenera- 
tion of  such  a  community?  Only  men  who  are 
true  heroes,  soldiers  of  the  cross  who  can  endure 
hardness,  are  willing  to  assume  such  responsibility. 
This  is  not  an  isolated  case  in  the  mountain  states. 
It  is  typical  of  many  others. 

The  other  community  near  by  represents  a  new 
settlement  of  farmers.  A  district  embracing  28,- 
ooo  acres  recently  brought  under  irrigation  by  the 
Carey  Act.  About  fifty  families  have  already  taken 
up  homesteads  and  more  are  coming  every  month. 
This  locality  was  uninhabited  three  years  ago,  but 
now  rich  harvests  are  being  gathered  for  the  first 
time.  The  settlers  are  mostly  poor,  with  mere 
shacks  of  buildings  for  homes,  depending  on  suc- 

181 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

cessive  crops  for  a  living  and  first  payments  on 
their  land.  They  represent  an  industrious  and  en- 
ergetic class  of  people,  with  righteous  ambition  and 
courageous  spirit  in  making  for  themselves  homes 
in  the  presence  of  the  "  shining  mountains." 
Nearly  every  family  has  been  represented  in  the 
few  religious  services  held  in  their  community. 
They  are  sincere  and  united  in  effort  to  establish  a 
religious  work  in  their  midst.  A  church  of  twenty 
members  has  been  organized.  The  membership 
represents  five  denominations  and  six  different 
states,  all  united  heartily  in  a  community  church 
under  a  denominational  name.  At  every  service  so 
far,  the  attendance  completely  filled  the  little  school 
house,  the  only  place  where  a  service  could  be  held, 
and  perhaps  the  only  place  they  can  afford  for  some- 
time to  come.  .  This  is  a  sample  of  a  great  many 
new  settlements  in  the  West,  where  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity is  afforded  for  demonstrating  what  a  modern 
church  administered  on  progressive  methods  can  do 
for  the  uplift  of  a  rural  community. 

The  above  examples  are  given  as  types  of  many 
recently  organized  churches  in  newly  developed  terri- 
tory and  older  communities  in  the  West.  After 
organization  comes  the  real  problem,  which  is  to 
supply  them  with  a  ministry  adapted  to  the  needs 
and  conditions  of  such  settlements.  There  are  no 
fields  so  promising  in  results  when  wisely  adminis- 
tered. There  are  few  fields  so  inviting  to  the  man 

182 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

who  has  vision  to  see  the  opportunity  for  service  in 
the  Master's  Kingdom. 

Here  is  the  opportunity  of  the  church  which  is 
almost  criminal  to  neglect.  To  the  young  man 
seeking  a  field  ready  for  harvesting,  these  country 
parishes  are  alluring  in  their  possibility  of  develop- 
ment. The  man  who  can  enlist  his  sympathies  with 
the  common  interests  of  such  a  class,  can  mould  a 
whole  community  after  his  own  pattern  and  bind 
his  people  to  him  with  unfailing  affection  and  rev- 
erence. 

The  following  is  another  example,  that  has  gone 
beyond  the  experimental  stage.  It  is  the  story  of 
a  mountain  village,  consisting  of  a  railroad  station 
with  a  ten  by  ten  waiting  room,  a  dingy  stove,  a 
similar  room  for  the  agent,  five  residences,  none  of 
which  would  cost  more  than  seven  hundred  dollars, 
a  mercantile  store,  lumber  yard,  grain  elevator  and 
small  hotel.  These  constitute  the  makeup  of  this 
little  town  located  in  the  midst  of  mountains  rising 
high  on  every  side.  Three  wagon  roads  centre  in 
the  village,  leading  up  the  ravines  to  benches  and 
uplands  where  considerable  farming  is  carried  on 
with  profitable  results.  The  school  house  is  a  two 
story  building.  The  first  story  is  used  for  school 
purposes,  and  the  second,  for  a  general  utility 
hall.  It  has  been  used  for  dances  once  a  month, 
sometimes  every  two  weeks  and  not  un  frequently 
every  week.  -There  was  organized  also  a  whist- 

183 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

club  which  met  at  frequent  intervals,  often  times 
having  a  dozen  tables  of  players.  The  town  people 
and  country  lads  and  lassies  from  the  bench  lands 
all  join  on  the  basis  of  social  equality.  They  play 
cards  or  dance  until  about  midnight,  then  go  to  the 
hotel  for  luncheon  (sometimes  so  early  in  the  morn- 
ing that  it  might  be  called  breakfast)  after  which 
the  boys  and  girls  and  some  married  people  mount 
their  ponies  and  hie  up  the  gulches  to  their  homes 
distant  five  to  ten  miles.  The  nearest  farm  house 
to  this  village  is  three  miles  away,  the  space  between 
being  filled  with  rugged  mountains  almost  impas- 
sable, except  along  the  ravines  where  wagon  roads 
lead  through  scenery  wild  and  romantic.  At  some 
of  these  dances  as  many  as  fifty  couple  have  been 
present,  while  the  card  parties  numbered  from 
twenty  to  fifty  persons,  mostly  young  people.  For 
ten  years  these  card  parties  and  dances  constituted 
the  only  social  functions  and  the  only  community 
interests  bringing  the  people  together.  Possibly 
once  a  year  an  itinerate  missionary  might  hold  a 
religious  service  attended  as  a  curiosity,  rather  than 
with  a  desire  to  worship.  There  was  one  redeem- 
ing feature  in  this  village  which  made  it  an  excep- 
tion to  the  usual  mountain  centre.  It  had  no 
saloon.  Many  efforts  had  been  made  by  different 
parties  to  secure  a  license,  but  in  every  case  refused 
by  the  Commissioners  under  the  protest  of  the  citi- 
zens. A  short  time  ago  permanent  and  regular  re- 

184 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

ligious  service  was  established.  A  minister  of  ex- 
ceptional ability,  with  open  vision,  initiative  gifts, 
pleasing  personality  and  thoroughly  consecrated  to 
his  work,  was  engaged.  The  change  wrought  by 
him  among  this  people  is  an  illustration  of  what 
can  be  done  by  the  village  minister  in  like  con- 
ditions. A  Sabbath-school  was  first  organized 
which  in  six  months  reached  a  membership  of  one 
hundred.  A  social  club  for  the  promotion  of  com- 
munity interests  was  constituted  with  twenty-six 
members.  A  country  choir  was  organized  which 
gave  occasional  concerts  and  led  the  singing  for  re- 
ligious worship.  A  library  committee  was  ap- 
pointed which  in  a  short  time  secured  a  fine  collec- 
tion of  books  and  all  the  principal  magazines  and 
daily  papers.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  upper 
room  formerly  used  only  for  dancing  and  card  play- 
ing was  converted  into  a  reading  room  and  used 
for  religious  worship.  A  ladies'  society  was  or- 
ganized whose  functions  were  of  a  social  character. 
They  furnished  through  some  months  of  the  year 
a  semi-monthly  entertainment.  A  luncheon  was 
served  early  in  the  evening  and  varied  entertain- 
ments followed.  Sometimes  a  picture  show,  some- 
times a  dramatic  play,  sometimes  a  concert.  Also 
occasional  lectures  were  given  free  of  charge  by 
professors  from  the  State  Agricultural  College  on 
various  subjects  pertaining  to  farming.  These  enter- 
tainments were  largely  attended  by  the  whole  com- 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

munity  and  became  events  looked  forward  to  with 
great  interest,  both  on  account  of  their  instructive 
features  and  the  entertainment  furnished.  The 
Club  has  undertaken  road  improvement  and  the 
building  of  a  church,  as  first  efforts  among  other 
plans  to  be  carried  out  in  the  future.  This  young 
minister  engaged  with  the  young  people  in  sports 
such  as  base  ball  and  other  games.  He  became  one 
among  them,  their  leader  and  sky  pilot  by  setting  a 
worthy  example  to  follow.  He  never  uttered  a 
word  against  dancing  and  card  playing,  but  in  six 
months  these  forms  of  amusement  had  become  a 
thing  of  the  past,  having  other  amusements  substi- 
tuted of  more  interest  and  profit.  All  this  change 
was  brought  about  through  this  young  minister,  and 
yet  done  in  such  a  quiet  unassuming  way,  that  the 
people  themselves  seemed  to  be  the  leaders. 
Through  his  personal  touch,  he  became  the  uncon- 
scious force  moulding  this  people  after  his  own 
high  ideal.  He  took  up  the  burden  of  this  rural 
community  and  bore  it  in  the  spirit  of  loving  conse- 
cration till  he  has  witnessed  a  transformation  of 
moral  conditions  most  inspiring  and  far  reaching. 
He  generated  enthusiastic  public  spirit  and  civic 
pride.  He  conceived  and  initiated  a  rational  pro- 
gramme of  reform,  and  steadily  pursued  it  with 
energy  and  zeal  courageous.  The  theorist  has  de- 
scribed the  ideal  rural  minister  as  a  sort  of  general 
superintendent  in  all  agricultural  affairs.  Of 

186 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

course  this  is  all  foolish  and  unreasonable  and  shows 
to  what  extremes  theorizing  may  be  carried. 

The  successful  features  in  this  case  cited,  has 
been  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  the  enkindling  per- 
sonality of  an  earnest  soul,  with  a  contagious  en- 
thusiasm, resulting  in  unity  of  social  action,  if  not 
in  belief,  and  stimulating  organization  to  this  end. 

The  difficulty  is  to  find  such  men.  There  are 
many  promising  opportunities  calling  for  this  kind 
of  leadership.  Many  fields  here  in  the  West  are 
alluring  to  the  man  of  vision.  In  eastern  Mon- 
tana, the  writer  has  organized  ten  rural  and  village 
churches  in  the  last  four  years,  and  only  two  of 
them  have  been  able  to  secure  pastoral  oversight 
further  than  that  of  the  occasional  visit  of  the 
pastor  evangelist  and  students  from  the  seminaries 
during  a  few  months  in  the  summer.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  type  of  many  letters  being  received  from 
these  newly  organized  rural  churches. 

"Dear  Doctor: 

"  Our  congregation  is  hungry  for  a  permanent  ministry.  It 
is  now  three  years  since  you  organized  our  church.  We  have 
been  supplied  two  summers  with  students  from  the  seminary. 
They  were  both  good  men  and  gave  us  good  service.  They 
have  been  practicing  preaching  on  us  I  trust  to  their  advan- 
tage and  our  edification.  It  is  a  question  whether  the  hearers 
or  students  have  been  helped  the  most.  We  hope  it  has  been 
mutual.  We  would  gladly  have  retained  them  and  would 
have  waited  till  they  had  finished  their  studies,  but  both  re- 
fused to  promise  to  return,  saying,  'they  expected  a  call  to 
a  larger  field  of  usefulness.'  We  can  stand  this  kind  of  work 
for  a  little  while,  but  it  does  not  meet  our  needs.  We  are 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

losing  ground  rather  than  gaining.  Our  community  needs  a 
permanent  ministry,  and  unless  given  us  soon  our  organiza- 
tion which  has  great  possibilities  will  go  to  pieces.  It  is 
weaker  now  than  when  organized.  Cannot  you  get  a  man 
for  us  who  will  come  with  the  purpose  to  stay  as  our  leader. 
We  are  like  lost  sheep  in  the  wilderness  without  a  shep- 
herd. 

"  Sincerely  Yours, ." 

This  is  a  sample  of  many  letters  received.  The 
great  heart-ache  of  the  superintendent  of  missions 
is  his  powerlessness  to  supply  these  pressing  needs. 
We  make  our  appeal  to  the  young  men  graduating 
in  our  seminaries  and  the  response  is  monotonously 
the  same,  "  We  expect  a  call  to  a  larger  field  of  use- 
fulness." The  young  men  are  not  altogether  to 
blame.  Are  we  not  safe  in  saying  that  the  tendency 
of  seminary  training  puts  the  student  out  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  country  parish?  The  courses  in 
pastoral  theology  are  given  by  professors  who  have 
been  pastors  in  large  city  churches.  It  may  be  said 
to  the  credit  of  one  seminary  at  least,  that  last  year 
an  eminently  successful  country  minister  was  in- 
vited to  give  a  series  of  lectures  before  the  students 
on  "  The  Country  Parish." 

One  reason  for  slowness  in  growth  of  country 
churches  is  the  lack  of  permanency  in  the  pastorate. 
Many  of  the  students  who  accept  a  country  field, 
do  so  with  no  other  intention  that  that  of  making  it 
a  stepping  stone  to  a  city  charge. 

There  are  many  reasons  assigned  for  the  short 
rural  pastorate.  Small  salaries ;  aged  ministers  who 

188 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

take  these  fields  as  a  last  resort;  isolation  and  sepa- 
ration from  ministerial  fellowship;  publicity  given 
pastors  in  cities  through  the  religious  press,  while 
the  hard  working,  underpaid  country  minister  is 
ignored;  all  these  have  been  suggested  on  the  part 
of  the  country  field. 

Another  reason  on  the  side  of  the  ministry  is 
that  of  him  who  comes  into  a  country  charge  with 
a  conscious  superiority,  with  pre-conceived  ideals 
and  theories  which  he  endeavours  to  enforce,  before 
he  has  gained  confidence  by  getting  into  sympathetic 
touch  with  his  parishioners.  His  first  effort  is  al- 
most sure  to  irritate,  to  scold  and  to  hector  his 
people.  Before  many  months  and  in  some  cases 
weeks  have  passed,  he  has  lost  out  and  the  necessity 
is  upon  him  to  move  on. 

But  whatever  be  the  cause  of  short  pastorates  in 
the  country,  the  fact  is  manifest.  The  long  country 
pastorate  is  generally  the  one  that  has  a  record  to 
be  proud  of;  the  one  on  which  the  Divine  Master 
has  set  His  seal  of  approval  through  a  prosperous 
church. 

A  man  with  inspiration  in  his  soul  can  go  into 
any  ordinary  community  or  sleepy  neighbourhood, 
and  kindle  them  into  a  lasting  fire  of  enthusiasm. 
To  do  so  he  must  become  a  constructive  community 
leader.  He  need  not  necessarily  be  specially  skilled 
in  any  particular  task,  but  he  must  have  a  love  for 
whatever  task  is  set  before  him,  dreaming  all  the 

189 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

while  in  concrete  images  of  possibilities,  improving 
the  situation  whatever  it  may  be.  The  few  really 
inspired  preachers  whp  are  transforming  their 
parishes,  are  not  possessed  of  remarkable  mental 
gifts.  Their  success  is  not  due  so  much  to  genius, 
as  to  consecrated  application.  The  four  great 
needs  in  rural  life  are,  intellectual  stimulus,  eco- 
nomic reform,  social  enjoyment  and  religious  faith. 
The  forces  the  country  minister  has  to  contend 
against  are  stagnation  and  discontent,  rather  than 
total  depravity.  Hence  a  leader  must  be  impelled 
by  the  force  of  an  awakened  enthusiasm.  Instead 
of  possessing  ideas,  ideas  must  possess  him  and 
push  him  on  to  realization. 

We  have  cause  to  be  thankful  that  a  new  interest 
has  been  awakened  in  behalf  of  better  rural  con- 
ditions. The  horizon  of  the  rural  minister  is  being 
broadened  and  the  responsibility  of  his  position  pre- 
sents opportunity  so  commanding  that  it  ought  to 
challenge  the  service  of  our  most  gifted  men  en- 
tering the  ministry.  The  country  is  surely  coming 
into  recognition  of  its  opportunity. 

There  is  no  danger  of  its  being  magnified  beyond 
its  importance  among  the  contributing  forces  in  a 
progressive  church.  This  is  especially  true  in 
western  rural  conditions,  for  the  reason  that  they 
are  in  the  plastic  stage,  unbiased  by  sectarian  preju- 
dice and  untrammelled  by  denominational  rivalry. 

190 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

But  efficiency  must  be  the  watchword  of  the  country 
minister.  Without  a  winning  personality  and  quali- 
ties of  leadership,  he  had  better  look  elsewhere  for 
a  vineyard  to  cultivate. 

Our  faith  is  still  in  the  church  as  the  only  or- 
ganization capable  of  making  these  western  rural 
conditions  what  they  ought  to  be  in  high  ideals, 
more  attractive  homes,  sounder  health  and  broader 
lives. 

"  This  job  of  leadership  requires  the  wisdom  of 
the  serpent  and  the  tenderness  of  the  dove.  Gen- 
eralities have  no  place  in  its  success.  Concrete 
cases  and  definite  results  mean  victory.  Volley  fir- 
ing sounds  like  big  business.  Sharpshooting  is  the 
deadly  thing.  The  first  concern  of  the  country 
minister  should  be  the  awakening  and  developing 
of  religious  life  in  the  individual  and  the  home;  not 
religion  for  the  sake  of  religion,  but  religion  for 
the  sake  of  character  and  righteousness.  By  this 
time  the  church  should  have  outgrown  evangelism 
through  emotional  appeal,  and  ought  to  be  attain- 
ing standards  of  conduct  and  home  training  that 
will  make  the  highest  religious  life  the  normal,  and 
the  mean  and  dishonest  and  shiftless  life  the  un- 
natural. If  the  appeal  of  religion  is  weakened  it  is 
because  the  individual  sense  of  right  and  wrong  has 
become  confused.  If  the  church  has  lost  its  power 
it  is  because  the  home  has  lost  its  religion.  The 

191 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

country  church  will  be  energized  as  the  country 
home  is  Christianized."  (Homiletic  Review,  May, 
1910,  page  373.) 

Along  the  foothills  of  the  Bridger  range  we 
have  an  example  of  an  ideal  country  church,  that 
has  literally  revolutionized  the  moral  condition 
of  a  whole  community.  This  settlement  was  called 
the  "  hillers  "  by  those  who  lived  on  lower  lands. 
These  "  hillers "  had  an  unenviable  reputation  as 
godless  and  wicked.  Into  this  hill  settlement  there 
came  a  minister  over  sixty  years  of  age,  who  had 
a  vision  of  future  possibilities.  The  hills  produced 
rich  harvests  and  the  farmers  were  generally  pros- 
perous. A  church  was  organized  and  worship  con- 
ducted in  a  school  house  for  five  years.  Then  the 
people  rose  up  and  built  a  beautiful  and  commodious 
house  for  worship.  The  membership  constantly  in- 
creased. The  church  became  the  centre  of  religious 
and  social  life,  illustrating  the  truth  that  religious 
and  social  conditions  must  go  together.  Before  the 
organization  of  the  church,  Sunday  was  as  any 
other  day  of  the  week.  Ploughing,  sowing,  reaping 
and  threshing  went  on  just  the  same  as  any  other 
day.  The  few  church  members  were  in  sore  straits 
in  the  threshing  season.  If  their  turn  should  come 
on  the  Sabbath,  they  were  compelled  to  accept  it, 
or  be  put  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  list  and  thus 
be  indefinitely  postponed.  The  difficulty  was  fin- 
ally met  by  a  combination  of  Christians  buying  a 

192 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

threshing  machine  of  their  own.  It  proved  to  be 
a  very  successful  undertaking  and  came  to  be  called 
the  "  Sunday  threshing  machine,"  because  it  rested 
on  the  Sabbath.  At  first  it  was  a  contemptuous 
designation,  but  in  time  commanded  respect  akin  to 
reverence.  It  proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  almost 
universal  Sabbath  observance  in  that  neighborhood. 
There  are  now  only  a  few  families  who  do  not  at- 
tend regularly  divine  worship. 

All  this  has  been  accomplished  largely  through 
the  influence  of  one  man,  after  he  passed  what  is 
commonly  supposed  to  be  the  ministerial  dead  line. 
If  asked  the  secret  of  his  success,  he  would  not 
hesitate  to  tell  you  that  it  is  the  prayer  of  the  right- 
eous and  untiring  perseverance.  Spiritual  vision 
and  consecrated  service  were  and  still  are  the  im- 
pelling forces  of  this  successful  minister  among  the 
"  hillers." 

Yes,  the  country  church  still  has  its  mission. 
May  it  not  have  a  brighter  future  than  in  the  past  ? 
The  present  interest  in  its  welfare  indicates  larger 
possibilities  to  be  realized.  Give  us  consecrated 
leadership,  and  a  new  era  of  the  country  church  is 
well  begun. 

"  The  prospects  and  results  in  the  rural  parish 
present  infinitely  greater  possibilities  than  the  aver- 
age city  church  with  its  secretly  aggravating  limita- 
tions to  a  man's  full  exercise  of  his  ability  and 
proper  scope.  The  lure  of  the  city  has  been  to 

193 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

many  ministers  a  snare  and  delusion,  rilled  with  a 
mixture  of  small  and  seeming  success,  loss  of  some 
fundamental  elements  of  manhood,  trimming  and 
disappointment.  The  lure  of  the  country  looms  up 
larger  and  gives  him  free  and  full  scope  for  all 
there  is  in  a  man,  developed  and  latent.  "  Back  to 
the  country"  should  be  the  slogan  of  the  church, 
for  on  its  fulfillment  depends  the  foundation  of  city 
and  church  vitality,  of  national  prosperity,  and  of 
candidates  for  the  ministry.  Let  no  one  imagine 
that  the  country  will  be  overrun  with  ministers  in 
such  a  movement,  for  only  those  choice  spirits  with 
a  vision,  enterprise,  determination,  and  a  heart  de- 
siring to  be  of  unselfish  usefulness  in  a  great  and 
crying  cause  will  respond  to  the  call.  The  open 
country  neds  and  beckons  to  men,  spelled  large. 
The  rewards  are  gradual,  sure  and  as  broad  and  full 
as  life  itself,  both  in  this  world  and  eternity." 
(Bulletin  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary, 
April,  1912,  page  n.) 

When  rural  population  fails  to  make  its  full  con- 
tribution to  national  character  and  the  spiritual 
forces  of  the  church,  we  shall  lose  one  of  the  most 
effective  sources  of  supply  for  religious  propaga- 
tion. 

The  great  problem  of  home  missions  is  the  task 
of  re-invigorating  village  and  country  churches  in 
the  East,  and  stimulating  their  organization  and 
equipment  in  the  West. 

194 


RURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  WEST 

About  three-fifths  of  our  population  still  live  in 
districts  of  less  than  2,500  inhabitants.  A  very 
great  percentage  of  ministerial  supply,  and  a  very 
large  proportion  of  religious  leaders  in  cities,  are 
from  the  village  and  rural  surroundings. 

For  this  reason  the  rural  problem  is  one  of  the 
most  vital  in  the  whole  catalogue  of  Christian  en- 
deavour. The  rural  church  indicates  a  centre  of  in- 
terest in  the  onward  movements  along  the  lines  of 
progressive  work  in  advancing  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  the  upbuilding  of  national  righteousness. 


195 


CHAPTER  IX 
RECREATION  HOURS 

FOR  scenery  and  enjoyment,  for  health  and 
recreation,  for  all  that  delights  the  lover  of 
the  outdoors,  where  can  one  go  for  that 
which  is  more  satisfying  and  inspiring  than  up  and 
down  the  canyons  and  flower  covered  slopes  of  the 
Rockies?    There  is  an  unspeakable  charm  to  an 
outdoor  life  amidst  the  great  variety  of  panoramic 
beauty,  a  trip  in  the  mountains  affords  to  those  who 
have  taste  and  appreciation  of  nature's  wildness, 
unadorned  by  the  touch  of  human  hand. 

Since  engaged  exclusively  in  missionary  field 
work,  the  writer  has  had  little  time  for  pleasure 
trips.  When  a  pastor  I  always  had  my  summer 
vacations.  While  they  are  not  denied  me  now,  yet 
for  the  last  five  years,  work  has  been  so  pressing, 
that  I  have  not  left  it  for  even  two  or  three  weeks' 
outing.  I  have  been  limited  to  two  or  three  days' 
time  when  my  work  happened  to  call  so  near  a 
mountain  stream,  that  its  irresistible  and  tempting 
invitation  was  too  strong  for  my  power  of  resist- 
ance. There  is  something  indescribably  charming 

196 


RECREATION  HOURS 

in  a  mountain  stream.  When  riding  through  the 
canyons  on  the  cars,  I  always  have  a  longing  to 
change  my  plush  covered  seat  for  one  on  the  rock, 
around  which  whirls  and  swirls  foaming  waters. 
The  eye  never  gets  weary  in  watching  the  curls  and 
eddies  and  waves  as  they  dance  over  their  rocky 
bottoms.  There  is  that  kind  of  fascination  that 
soothes  the  mind,  while  kept  in  activity,  like  the 
activity  of  the  running  water;  it  stirs  to  action,  but 
is  tireless  in  motion.  It  produces  that  kind  of  in- 
dolence defined  by  Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke,  as  a 
virtue.  "  It  comes  from  two  Latin  words,  which 
mean  freedom  from  anxiety  or  grief.  And  that  is 
a  wholesome  state  of  mind.  There  are  times  and 
seasons  when  it  is  even  a  blessed  state  of  mind. 
Not  to  be  in  a  hurry ;  not  to  be  ambitious  or  jealous 
or  resentful;  not  to  feel  envious  of  anybody;  not  to 
fret  about  to-day  nor  worry  about  to-morrow, —  that 
is  the  way  we  all  ought  to  feel  at  some  time  of  our 
lives;  and  that  is  the  kind  of  indolence  in  which 
our  brooks  faithfully  encourage  us." 

These  words  describe  that  state  of  mind  often  felt 
in  the  cheerful  companionship  of  mountain  streams, 
which  have  the  power  to  separate  from  the  arti- 
ficial life  in  the  throngs  of  commerce  and  trade. 
Here  is  the  land  of  forgetfulness  and  delightful 
pleasures,  pure  as  the  water  flowing  from  under 
the  rock,  or  the  melting  snow  from  yonder 
mountain  top. 

197 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

For  those  who  seek  the  purest  air  and  water, 
scenery  unsurpassed,  and  all  that  goes  to  recreate 
tired  bodies,  overstrained  nerves,  and  weary  minds, 
let  me  recommend  Montana,  which  according  to 
Joaquin  Miller,  has  the  only  classic  name  among 
the  constellation  of  states.  This  poetic  and  most 
appropriate  name  was  familiar  to  the  school  boy  so 
far  back  as  the  time  when  western  Europe  was  still 
the  vague  and  dim  ultima  thule.  "  Nearly  all 
the  states  have  Indian  names.  The  few  exceptions 
are  those  named  in  honour  of  foreign  rulers,  and  the 
Father  of  our  country,  and  two  or  three  that  are  of 
Spanish  origin.  But  here  is  one  that  stands  apart 
and  alone, —  distinct  even  in  name  as  in  many  his- 
toric incidents,  characteristics,  soil,  products  and 
physical  features."  Such  a  country  is  mentally  in- 
spiring as  well  as' physically  invigorating.  Quoting 
again  from  the  same  author,  "  The  mountains  have 
ever  been  the  bulwark  of  freedom.  Valour  is  born 
there,  virtue  is  cherished  there,  and  these  are  the 
seeds  of  song  and  story.  No  land  ever  yet  had  a 
literature  to  endure,  that  had  not  these  for  its 
theme,  these  offsprings  of  the  pure,  sweet  atmos- 
phere, and  sublime  splendour  of  the  mountains ;  and 
the  more  glorious  the  mountains,  the  more  glorious 
the  song  and  story.  Here  great  men  in  the  glorious 
pursuits  of  peace  laid  the  foundation  stones  without 
the  cement  of  blood,  and  reared  a  great  state  of 
material,  fresh  from  the  hand  of  God.  There  is 

198 


RECREATION  HOURS 

nothing  in  all  the  history  of  civilization  more  pa- 
thetic, more  dramatic,  than  the  untold  story  of  the 
Montana  veteran.  In  truth,  which  ever  way  you 
turn,  whatever  you  may  say  of  valour  and  endur- 
ance, whatever  you  may  see  in  the  magnificence  of 
nature,  be  it  in  river  or  mountain,  lake  of  fire  or 
head-heaved  chain  of  frost,  Montana  stands  match- 
less, peerless  and  alone,  a  thousand  miles  from  the 
seas,  garmented  in  silver  and  gold,  a  diadem  of 
precious  stones,  a  mantle  of  green  or  gold  about 
her  stately  figure  as  the  seasons  come  and  go,  there 
she  stands  above  the  world.  Those  who  stood  as 
veterans  by  the  cradle  of  this  stateliest  of  all  the 
sisterhood  of  states,  should  have  their  memory  kept 
green  in  song  and  story,  as  among  the  brave  and 
courageous  founders  who  have  erected  the  altar  in 
presence  of  the  "  shining  mountains." 

Flathead,  McDonald  and  Swan  Lakes,  are  all 
pictures  of  beauty,  encased  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  range  and  surrounded  by  thickly 
timbered  forests  extending  from  the  lofty  peaks  of 
Mission  range  and  Kootenai  mountains  to  the 
water's  edge,  making  a  frame  work  of  varied  and 
exquisite  setting,  are  among  the  many  resorts  which 
invite  nature  lovers  and  sportsmen.  Game  of  all 
kinds  are  in  the  mountains,  and  fish  in  the  lakes  and 
tributary  streams;  the  latter  so  abundant  that  the 
law  makes  no  restriction  for  any  season  of  the 
year.  For  large  game,  districts  near  or  adjacent 

199 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

to  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  afford  the  best 
hunting  of  any  place  in  the  state.  There  they  have 
become  plentiful  through  protection  in  the  Park, 
and  as  there  is  only  an  imaginary  boundary  line 
separating  the  reserve,  bear,  elk,  deer  and  antelope, 
wander  over  the  line  with  little  regard  to  danger, 
except  that  which  their  natural  instincts  prompt. 

But  in  the  Northwestern  lake  country,  the  skill- 
ful and  tireless  hunter  is  richly  rewarded  in  his 
search  for  big  game.  Swan  lake  region  especially 
is  the  paradise  of  the  sportsman.  A  wagon  road 
leads  from  Flathead  Lake  to  its  foot,  where  it  emp- 
ties into  the  Big  Fork  River,  but  beyond  that  for 
many  miles  there  are  only  trails  which  lead  into 
thousands  of  acres  of  timbered  reserve,  through 
which  here  and  there  flow  mountain  streams  empty- 
ing into  the  lake,  all  so  full  of  trout  that  the  fisher- 
man's basket  can  be  filled  in  a  few  hours  with 
speckled  beauties.  I  well  remember  my  first  trip 
to  this  lake.  We  were  met  by  an  old  guide  at  the 
end  of  the  wagon  road  with  our  camping  outfit. 
He  was  a  typical  man  of  the  woods.  When  we 
arrived,  he  was  waiting  for  us  with  his  little  scow 
in  which  were  to  be  packed  our  camping  outfit  for 
two  weeks.  This  guide  possessed  all  the  virtues 
and  vices  of  his  class.  The  first  question  on  our 
arrival  was,  "Where  is  your  jug?"  It  happened 
that  we  had  brought  with  us  a  jug  of  blackberry  un- 
fermented  wine,  for  it  was  really  a  temperance  com- 

200 


RECREATION  HOURS 

pany.  He  was  not  long  however  in  scenting  it. 
He  lifted  the  jug  over  one  arm,  pulled  the  cork  out 
and  took  a  smell  of  its  contents.  He  was  not  easily 
fooled  and  discovered  at  once  the  mild  character 
of  the  liquid,  and  put  it  down  with  a  disgusted  grunt 
and  disappointed  look,  saying  in  language  (a  part 
of  which  I  will  not  repeat)  "  that  stuff  is  good  only 
for  women  and  preachers."  He  did  not  know  at 
the  time  that  there  was  a  preacher  in  the  company, 
so  he  spoke  truer  than  he  knew.  His  appetite 
craved  for  something  much  stronger,  and  in  such 
mild  drinks  he  had  no  temptation  to  indulge. 

The  sixteen  miles  to  the  head  of  the  lake  was 
one  continuous  panorama  of  mountain  scenery  that 
would  charm  the  most  unobservant  soul  into  excla- 
mations of  delight.  What  an  ideal  place  for  a 
camp  ?  It  was  a  little  knoll  some  twenty  feet  above 
the  water's  edge,  with  background  of  gently  sloping 
mountain,  and  foreground  of  as  beautiful  a  sheet 
of  water  as  ever  kissed  the  sunlight;  beyond,  the 
Kootenaies  lifted  their  lofty  peaks  in  all  the  vari- 
gated  colouring  with  which  the  first  frosts  of  autumn 
tinge  the  forests.  In  the  sloughs  were  plenty  of 
ducks,  in  the  woods,  grouse,  deer  and  bear;  in  the 
waters  the  most  beautiful  fish  God  ever  made.  The 
marks  of  bear  were  all  around  us,  where  the  thorn 
bushes  were  broken  down  in  their  efforts  to  reach 
their  favourite  berry,  but  not  a  bear  did  we  see. 
They  are  the  wildest  of  game  and  hardest  to  find  of 

201 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

any  in  the  woods.  They  are  not  to  be  feared,  ex- 
cept when  wounded  or  in  defence  of  their  young. 

After  the  second  day  we  had  venison,  grouse, 
duck  and  trout  on  our  bill  of  fare,  and  for  dessert 
wild  strawberries  gathered  near  our  tent.  What 
Isaac  Walton  said,  as  quoted  by  another,  that 
"  doubtless  God  could  have  made  a  better  berry, 
but  doubtless  God  never  did,"  was  in  reference  to 
the  wild  strawberry,  not  the  cultured  one,  for  what 
advantage  the  cultivated  strawberry  has  in  size,  is 
more  than  lost  in  flavor.  The  description  given  by 
Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke,  may  carry  with  it  much  that 
is  imagination,  but  is  worthy  of  frequent  quotation, 
"  Each  one  as  it  touched  my  lips  was  a  drop  of 
nectar  and  a  crumb  of  ambrosia,  a  concentrated  es- 
sence of  all  the  pungent  sweetness  of  the  wildwood, 
sapid,  penetrating  and  delicious.  I  tasted  the  odour 
of  a  hundred  blossoms,  and  the  green  shimmering 
of  innumerable  leaves,  and  the  sparkle  of  sifted 
sunbeams  and  the  breath  of  highland  breezes  and 
the  song  of  birds  and  the  murmur  of  flowing 
streams  —  all  in  the  wild  strawberry." 

Such  a  feast  of  good  things  the  gods  might  envy, 
and  along  with  it  the  consciousness  that  none  of 
these  good  things  were  brought  from  the  store 
around  the  corner.  They  were  first  hand  from 
nature's  provision  for  man  in  the  wilderness. 

Because  fishermen  have  been  called  proverbial 
liars,  I  hesitate  to  tell  fish  stories.  When  the 

202 


RECREATION  HOURS 

Psalmist  said  that  "all  men  are  liars,"  he  might 
have  had  in  mind  this  class  of  men.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  Peter,  fabled  to  be  the  gate  keeper 
in  heaven,  being  a  fisherman  himself,  will  make 
great  allowance  for  fishermen  when  they  apply  for 
admittance.  At  the  risk  of  being  considered  guilty 
with  all  the  rest,  I  will  relate  the  results  of  one 
afternoon's  fishing  on  Flathead  Lake,  when  with  two 
others  and  trolling  lines  on  a  steam  yacht,  we  caught 
thirty-three  bull  trout  weighing  in  all  fifty-five 
pounds.  After  all,  this  kind  of  fishing  is  not  that 
which  the  true  sportsman  is  proud  of.  It  is  too 
easy  and  does  not  require  much  skill.  It  is  not  to 
be  compared  to  the  fascination,  as  well  as  skill,  on 
the  stream  with  rod  and  fly.  (The  grasshopper  is 
more  attractive,  though  its  use  would  not  be  con- 
sidered sportsmanlike.) 

Speaking  of  lying,  let  it  be  said  that  the  sin  is 
entirely  too  common,  and  is  not  to  be  laid  always  at 
the  door  of  the  fisherman.  A  few  years  ago,  my 
book  on  "  Social  Regeneration  "  was  published.  I 
had  a  very  close  and  intimate  friend,  then  occupy- 
ing a  very  prominent  and  important  political  posi- 
tion in  our  state.  He  was  a  member  of  my  church, 
and  a  regular  attendant  at  the  morning  service  on 
the  Sabbath  day.  I  gave  him  a  copy  of  my  book  to 
read.  Some  four  weeks  later  he  returned  the  book 
with  thanks,  saying  that  "  he  had  read  it  with  profit 
and  pleasure."  To  my  surprise  and  no  little  cha- 

203 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

grin,  not  a  leaf,  not  even  the  introduction  page,  had 
been  cut. 

After  our  appointed  time  we  returned  down  the 
lake,  loaded  with  a  great  variety  of  game.  One  of 
our  company  was  taken  sick  just  as  we  were  leaving 
the  camp,  and  was  later  given  over  to  the  care  of 
the  good  lady  who  kept  a  log  cabin  inn  at  the  foot 
of  the  lake  where  we  remained  over  night.  She 
was  very  kind  in  administering  to  our  unfortunate 
brother,  restoratives  of  an  intoxicating  character, 
but  dealt  them  out  in  very  small  quantities,  for  she 
mistook  the  sick  man  to  be  the  minister,  knowing 
that  one  was  in  the  company  she  was  entertaining. 
The  small  dose  had  the  effect  however  of  reviving 
our  friend  to  such  an  extent  that  he  wished  for 
more  of  the  same  kind,  on  the  supposition  that  if  a 
little  would  do  so  much  good,  a  larger  dose  would 
surely  make  him  well.  But  she  positively  refused 
his  request  for  more,  saying  that  she  would  not  be 
guilty  of  making  the  minister  drunk,  for  if  he  had 
not  sense  enough  to  exercise  judgment  for  himself, 
she  would  exercise  a  little  sense  for  him.  This  was 
one  time  our  friend  regretted  being  taken  for  a 
minister,  however  much  honour  the  title  might  do 
him. 

The  Bitter  Root  Valley  is  a  noted  and  popular  re- 
sort for  recreation  hours.  It  is  no  less  remarkable 
for  its  agricultural  interests,  and  especially  for 
apples  and  other  fruits.  It  has  an  ideal  climate 

204 


RECREATION  HOURS 

and  rich  soil;  well  watered  by  the  many  mountain 
streams  which  flow  into  it  from  the  Bitter  Root 
range  on  the  west,  and  the  less  abrupt  Hellgate 
range  on  the  east.  From  this  valley  are  shipped 
annually  thousands  of  car  loads  of  the  far-famed 
Red  Mclntosh  apples,  to  adorn  the  tables  of  the 
most  fashionable  hotels  in  the  East,  and  in  fact 
sent  across  the  sea  to  London  and  other  Euro- 
pean cities.  The  little  mountain  streams  from 
either  side  of  the  valley,  pitch  abruptly  from  the 
canyons  and  feed  the  Bitter  Root,  extending  south- 
ward a  hundred  miles  from  the  city  of  Missoula. 
The  river  itself  is  the  place  to  fish  for  the  big  three 
pound  cut-throat  trout,  but  the  tributaries  have 
plenty  of  good  fish  and  afford  pleasure  and  exhila- 
ration for  the  sportsman. 

On  a  certain  occasion  when  buying  a  railroad 
ticket  at  Pony,  Montana,  the  agent,  R.  F.  Welliver, 
began  reciting  a  classic  poem,  on  the  picturesque 
"Bitter  Root  Valley,"  where  he  had  been  on  a 
recent  visit.  It  awakened  his  poetic  genius,  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  lines,  which  contain  more 
truth  than  vision. 

"There's  a  fabled  land  somewhere  in  the  West, 
Where  all  is  joy  and  man  is  blessed, 
Where  the  Hesperian  Gardens  their  beauties  unfold, 
Bright  trees  of  silver,  bearing  apples  of  gold, 
Tis  the  Bitter  Root. 

Rasselas,  the  prince  of  happy  valley  fame, 
Whose  search  to  get  out  was  silly  and  vain, 

205 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

If  Dr.  Johnson  had  placed  in  the  fair  Bitter  Root, 
His  royal  "nibs"  would  have  made  no  effort  to  scoot 
From  the  Bitter  Root. 

'Tis  said  St.  Peter  binds  the  Missourian  with  a  chain 
To  keep  him  from  going  back  to  Missouri  again, 
If  in  the  Bitter  Root  he  had  heaved  his  last  sigh, 
He  would  need  a  steel  cage  built  strong  and  high, 
To  keep  him  from  going  back  to  the  Bitter  Root. 

Montana  has  many  rare  gems  in  her  crown, 
Brilliants  of  world-wide  fame  and  renown, 
Fields  of  golden  grain,  mountains  of  copper,  silver  and  gold, 
But  the  fairest  jewel  her  diadems  hold, 
Is  the  Bitter  Root. 

If  a  few  years  ago  I  had  bought  Bitter  Root  dirt, 
I  might,  now  in  a  "  Buzzer  "  ride  and  with  dame  fortune  flirt, 
Have  mushrooms  on  my  beefsteak,  pockets  full  of  cash, 
My  women  folks  togged  out  in  silks  cutting  a  big  dash, 
In  the  Bitter  Root. 

If  there  is  a  land  that  is  fairer  than  this, 
JTis  over  the  great  divide  in  the  realms  of  bliss. 
The  half  to  me  had  never  been  told, 
Of  the  Mclntosh  orchards  bearing  apples  of  gold, 
In  the  Bitter  Root" 


But  the  choice  of  all  the  streams  in  Montana  is 
the  Big  Black  foot.  None  to  me  are  so  fascinating 
or  possess  such  a  variety  of  interests  for  the  pleas- 
ure seeker.  Here  you  will  find  the  big  salmon, 
rainbow  and  cut-throat  trout  in  great  abundance. 
It  undoubtedly  furnishes  the  best  fishing  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  main  range  of  the  Rockies  in 
Montana.  The  railroads  have  not  yet  invaded  its 
seclusion,  although  at  present  writing  one  is  pushing 
its  iron  rails  up  this  valley.  Miss  May  Ellis,  has 

206 


RECREATION  HOURS 

written  in  song  a  description  of  the  Black  foot  as 
seen  with  a  poet's  eye.  The  last  two  verses  are 
descriptive  of  the  coming  of  the  iron  horse  and  the 
laying  of  the  iron  rails. 

"THE  BLACKFOOT." 

"'Neath  a  sky  like  an  arch  of  turquoise, 
You  ripple  and  laugh  and  sing. 
And  time  sleeps  to  your  music, 
Folding  his  idle  wing. 
The  wind  in  the  pines  is  singing 
A  melody  soft  and  low  — 
Sings  thro'  the  dream  of  the  lonely  stream 
A  song  of  the  long  ago. 

The  Indian's  campfires  smoulder 

By  nooks  where  the  grey  trout  sleep, 

The  deer's  wide  antlers  are  lifted 

From  the  alder  thickets  deep, 

The  far-off  call  of  the  night  bird, 

Floats  in  thro*  the  tepee  door, 

Where  the  braves  asleep  in  the  shadows  deep 

Follow  the  chase  once  more. 

The  faint  perfume  of  the  wild  rose 

Steals  far  thro*  the  silent  night, 

The  mists  drape  the  mountain's  bosom 

With  a  veil  of  bridal  white, 

The  silver  spears  of  the  moonlight 

Break  'gainst  the  cliff's  grey  wall 

While  the  river  leaps  o'er  its  rocky  steeps 

And  sings  as  it  nears  the  fall. 

Oh,  wide  free  stretch  of  the  prairie : 
Oh,  pines  where  the  night  winds  sigh: 
The  smoky  finger  of  commerce 
Is  writing  your  doom  on  the  sky. 
The  soft  grey  mists  are  lifting 
From  the  mountains  the  dusky  face, 
207 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

From  the  lofty  brow  that  soon  shall  bow 
'Neath  the  yoke  of  an  alien  race. 

The  peaceful  hush  of  your  forests, 

The  wild  flowers'  garlands  of  bloom, 

The  velvet  robes  of  your  mountains 

Shall  sink  'neath  an  asphalt  tomb. 

The  scream  of  the  slaver's  whistles 

Shall  silence  the  night  bird's  call, 

And  Mammon's  chains  as  he  counts  his  gains 

Shall  bind  the  land  in  thrall." 

For  forty  years  or  more  it  has  been  the  favourite 
fishing  and  hunting  region  with  lovers  of  sport. 
It  is  reached  on  the  eastern  side  from  Helena,  dis- 
tant sixty  miles,  by  crossing  the  main  divide.  The 
trip  over  the  range  from  Helena  is  of  itself  worth 
a  long  journey.  Both  sides  of  the  mountain  are 
thickly  timbered,  except-here  and  there,  where  there 
are  slopes  and  bench  lands,  some  under  cultivation, 
but  mostly  used  for  pasture,  and  where  flowers 
grow  of  a  hundred  or  more  varieties  in  such  pro- 
digality as  to  make  these  slopes  look  like  rich  gar- 
dens, whose  fragrance  is  wafted  on  the  winds  for 
many  miles. 

Speaking  of  fragrant  wild  flowers,  the  geolo- 
gists inform  us  (whether  they  are  correct  or  not  I 
do  not  know)  that  all  the  eras  of  the  earth's  history 
previous  to  the  Micene  period,  were  destitute  of 
perfumes.  "Forests  of  club  mosses  and  ferns,  hid 
in  their  sombre  bosom  no  bright-eyed  floweret, 
and  shed  from  verdant  boughs  no  scented  richness 
on  the  passing  breeze.  Palms  and  cycads,  though 

208 


RECREATION  HOURS 

ushering  in  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  floral  day,  pro- 
duced no  perfume  breathing  blossoms.  But  when 
it  came  to  the  period  of  man's  birth,  he  was  placed 
in  a  sweet  scented  garden  as  his  home.  It  was 
adorned  with  labiate  flowers,  exhaling  a  rich  aro- 
matic fragrance." 

However  true  the  above  theory,  we  do  know  that 
now  there  is  a  fragrance  in  the  breath  of  the  woods 
and  wild  flowers,  that  throws  a  charm  and  fascina- 
tion about  the  mountain's  presence.  As  you  near 
the  higher  elevation  and  approach  the  summit  of 
the  Rockies  between  Helena  and  the  Blackfoot  in 
the  month  of  June,  you  will  see  acres  of  bear- 
tooth,  with  its  cone-like  shape,  spread  out  before 
you  like  a  white  sheet  of  most  exquisite  blossoms. 

Along  the  Blackfoot  are  many  choice  places  for 
camping,  by  springs  sending  forth  their  waters  cold 
as  ice  and  pure  as  can  possibly  be  found  or  pro- 
duced any  place  in  this  beautiful  world  God  has 
made  for  us  to  enjoy.  There  is  something  morally 
elevating  in  such  an  atmosphere  and  surroundings. 
In  the  presence  of  such  entrancing  scenery  the  soul 
is  lifted  up  to  its  Creator.  The  strength  and  tower- 
ing majesty  of  the  hills  exalts  the  Maker  and 
humbles  man,  but  brings  him  into  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  source  of  all  power. 

Humility  is  a  very  desirable  grace.  Pride  goeth 
before  a  fall.  Ministers  above  all  others  need  to 
learn  this  lesson,  and  if  it  cannot  be  learned  in  pres- 

209 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

ence  of  Creative  power  as  witnessed  in  God's  handi- 
work, we  are  apt  to  learn  it  through  experience, 
when  our  conceit  gets  the  better  of  us. 

The  following  incident  is  an  illustration  from 
personal  experience.  I  was  spending  a  part  of  my 
vacation  in  Spokane,  where  I  had  an  appointment 
to  supply  a  pulpit  for  two  Sabbaths.  While  stop- 
ping at  the  hotel,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
resident  of  the  city,  but  who  was  at  the  time  stop- 
ping at  the  same  place.  We  became  quite  friendly, 
and  one  Sabbath  morning  I  invited  him  to  go  to 
church  with  me,  which  invitation  he  kindly  ac- 
cepted. In  the  afternoon,  I  met  him  in  the  lobby 
of  the  hotel,  when  he  took  my  hand  and  thanked 
me  for  that  very  excellent  sermon  and  pronounced 
it  in  his  judgment  the  very  best  he  had  heard  since 
he  came  to  the  city.  I  could  not  help  but  feel  con- 
siderably elated  at  such  a  compliment  from  a  man 
whose  intelligence  would  make  him  a  good  judge  of 
a  sermon.  But  after  he  had  inflated  my  balloon  of 
self-esteem,  with  the  gas  of  unmerited  praise,  he 
suddenly  punctured  it  and  let  it  all  out  by  inform- 
ing me,  that  it  was  the  first  and  only  sermon  he  had 
heard  since  he  came  to  Spokane. 

Another  incident  of  a  very  different  character, 
happened  during  one  of  my  vacations  on  the 
Black  foot.  It  was  my  custom  to  preach  on  the 
Sabbath  in  the  little  school  house,  which  was  the 
only  religious  service  held  in  that  part  of  the  coun- 

210 


RECREATION  HOURS 

try  for  several  years.  I  thus  became  acquainted 
with  a  good  Christian  family  living  on  the  west 
side  of  the  valley  through  whose  ranch  flowed 
a  small  stream  out  of  the  mountains  near  by.  I 
was  invited  to  dinner  in  this  home,  during  the  week 
with  a  view  of  becoming  better  acquainted  and 
spending  a  part  of  the  time  fishing.  I  found  it  to  be 
a  very  interesting  family  and  a  genuine  Christian 
home.  The  father  had  been  in  the  habit  of  holding 
a  Sunday-school  in  his  own  house,  composed  of  his 
family,  consisting  of  two  girls  and  one  boy.  They 
had  lesson  papers  and  kept  in  touch  with  the  Inter- 
national series  of  Bible  study.  After  dinner  I  took 
my  basket  and  rod  and  went  out  for  an  hour  or  two 
of  fishing.  The  little  boy,  eight  years  of  age,  re- 
quested the  privilege  of  going  with  me,  and  of 
course  the  request  was  readily  granted.  My  first 
cast  was  a  very  successful  one.  With  a  little  sur- 
prise the  boy  looked  up  and  said,  "  Well  I  guess  you 
can  fish  as  well  as  preach."  It  was  truly  an  ideal 
stream  for  fishing,  and  after  I  had  caught  as  many 
as  desired,  we  sat  down  together  on  a  rock  by  the 
water's  edge,  for  a  little  social  chat.  The  boy  .said 
to  me  in  a  very  confidential  tone  and  sincere  man- 
ner, "  Doctor,  did  you  know  that  I  am  going  to  be 
a  preacher  some  day  when  I  get  big?"  I  asked  him 
when  he  had  reached  that  decision.  He  replied, 
"  Two  years  ago  when  I  was  converted  at  the  serv- 
ice you  held  in  our  school  house,"  I  had  no  knowl- 

211 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

edge  of  his  conversion  at  the  time,  but  he  insisted 
that  he  became  a  Christian  on  that  occasion  and  de- 
cided he  would  be  a  minister.  I  was  very  much  im- 
pressed with  the  sincerity  of  his  manner  and  wis- 
dom beyond  his  years,  and  on  making  further  in- 
quiry was  convinced  that  it  was  more  than  a  child- 
ish fancy. 

I  have  kept  in  touch  with  that  boy  ever  since. 
He  has  never  swerved  or  wavered  from  his  deter- 
mination and  is  now  pursuing  his  studies  with  a 
view  of  entering  the  ministry.  If  my  life  is  spared 
long  enough  I  expect  to  see  and  hear  him  in  the  pul- 
pit. And  thus  the  seed  is  sown.  It  takes  root  in 
unexpected  places.  In  recreation  hours  and  busy 
days,  unconsciously  we  are  witnessing  for  the 
Master. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  wild  flowers  on  the  moun- 
tains. Before  I  close  this  chapter  I  want  to  speak 
of  a  bird  whose  friendship  for  mountain  streams 
and  waterfalls  is  such  that  we  never  fail  to  hear 
and  see  him  on  our  vacation  trips  along  the  water- 
ways of  canyon  and  valley.  It  is  the  Ouzel  or 
Water  Thrush.  Dark  days  and  sunny  days  are 
all  the  same  to  him.  His  voice  suffers  no  winter 
of  eclipse.  He  sings  through  all  the  seasons  and 
every  kind  of  weather.  John  Muir,  calls  him  "  the 
mountain  streams'  own  darling,"  the  humming  bird 
of  blooming  waters,  loving  rocky,  rippling  slopes 
and  sheets  of  foam  as  a  bee  loves  flowers,  as  a  lark 

212 


RECREATION  HOURS 

loves  sunshine  and  meadows.  "  Among  all  the 
mountain  birds  none  are  so  cheery,  so  unfailingly 
happy  and  full  of  song.  Both  in  winter  and  sum- 
mer he  sings,  sweetly,  cheerily,  independent,  alike 
in  winter  and  summer,  in  sunshine  and  cloud,  re- 
quiring no  other  inspiration  than  the  stream  on 
which  he  dwells.  While  water  sings,  so  must  he, 
in  heat  and  cold,  calm  and  storm,  ever  attuning 
his  voice  in  sweet  accord;  low  in  the  drought  of 
summer  and  the  cold  of  winter,  but  never  silent." 

To-night,  we  sit  around  the  campfire  near  our 
tent.  The  full  moon  comes  up  from  beyond  the 
mountain  and  looks  down  on  us  with  beaming  face. 
We  hear  the  song  of  the  waterfalls  rushing  over  the 
boulder  bottoms,  mingling  with  the  sound  of  cas- 
cades half  a  mile  away;  the  tall  yellow  pines  bow- 
ing their  heads  gracefully  in  the  evening  breeze, 
and  the  brooding  spirit  of  the  valley,  with  a  chorus 
of  subdued  sounds ;  all  these  possess  the  soul,  under 
a  canopy  of  stars. 

To-morrow,  we  lift  our  stakes,  fold  our  tents, 
and  return  to  the  sterner  duties  of  life,  which  have 
been  cast  off  for  a  time.  We  are  sadly  conscious 
that  this  is  only  a  resting  place,  a  quiet  hour  of 
preparation.  Our  tabernacles  are  to  be  built  amidst 
the  throng  and  busy  marts  of  trade,  where  the  fever 
of  strenuous  exertion,  cares  and  worries  of  life  need 
the  comforting,  controlling  and  uplifting  influence 
of  infinite  compassion  and  Divine  love. 

213 


CHAPTER  X 
LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

ON  my  first  trip  as  field  missionary,  I  met  on 
the  train  a  brother  minister  and  veteran  in 
similar  work.  For  twenty  years  he  had 
been  travelling  through  the  state,  his  zeal  and  en- 
thusiasm increasing  with  his  years.  Knowing  of 
my  appointment  to  this  new  field  of  service,  he 
took  my  hands,  congratulating  me  in  the  great 
opportunity  for  usefulness,  with  assurance  that  the 
work  would  prove  to  be  a  surprising  means  of  grace. 
After  these  years  of  actual  experience  his  prophecy 
has  come  true,  for  I  can  now  testify  that  my  vision 
has  been  enlarged,  the  spiritual  horizon  broadened, 
and  service  for  the  Master  more  inspiring  and  en- 
joyable than  ever  before.  I  have  found  more  real 
hardships  than  in  the  regular  pastorate  and  much 
less  material  compensation,  but  the  assurance  that  I 
have  been  used  in  a  larger  and  broader  service,  has 
more  than  compensated  for  any  sacrifice  made 
through  the  deprivation  of  home  comforts  and  in- 
conveniences which  must  necessarily  be  met  by  the 
travelling  missionary. 

214 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

This  closing  chapter  of  an  imperfect  and  to  the 
writer  an  unsatisfactory  portrayal  of  the  spiritual 
conquest  going  on  along  the  Rockies,  will  be  devoted 
to  a  few  brief  narratives,  incidents  and  suggestions 
gathered  on  the  field. 

A  MONTH'S  RECORD 

Jan.  i. — The  beginning  of  a  new  year  marks  an- 
other mile  stone,  not  only  in  the  years  of  an 
earthly  pilgrimage,  but  also  shows  manifest 
progress  in  the  spiritual  conquest  of  a  new 
West  rapidly  filling  up  with  a  population  whose 
redemption  is  imperative. 

Jan.  2. — Enjoying  a  few  days'  rest  and  quiet  medi- 
tation and  preparation  for  a  series  of  special 
meetings  planned  for  two  months  in  advance. 

Jan.  6. — The  first  of  a  series  of  meetings  at  C 

began  to-night  with  a  small  audience  and  indi- 
cations of  very  cold  weather. 

Jan.  7. — A  cold  wave  struck  us,  interfering  very 
seriously  with  our  meetings.  Twenty  degrees 
below  zero  last  night,  and  holding  on  with  in- 
dications of  lower  temperature. 

Jan.  8. — Larger  attendance  in  spite  of  cold  weather 
and  increasing  interest. 

Jan.  9. — Cold  wave  continues,  but  larger  audience, 
yet  apparent  lack  of  spiritual  feeling.  Had 
five  invitations  for  meals  to-day,  but  as  I  can- 
215 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

not  stand  more  than  three  and  can  get  along 
very  well  on  two,  was  under  the  necessity  of 
declining  some  of  them.  When  one  preaches 
every  night,  he  would  rather  be  excused  from 
social  duties.  The  kindness  of  these  Western 
people  surprises  me  more  and  more,  as  I  go 
through  different  parts  of  the  state.  Also  I 
find  the  general  standard  of  morality  higher 
than  was  supposed.  Back  of  rough  exteriors 
there  are  big  and  generous  hearts.  The  king- 
dom of  God  is  coming  where  we  suspect  it  not, 
in  the  still,  small  voice  of  growing  goodness. 

Jan.  10. — Twenty-two  degrees  below  zero  last 
night.  Sinners  are  not  flocking  towards  the 
church  in  great  numbers,  but  to-night  we  were 
made  glad  by  two  remaining  for  the  inquiry 
meeting  at  close  of  service. 

Jan.  12. — A  clear,  bright  Sabbath  day  with  sunshine. 
It  has  been  a  day  of  great  blessing  and  spir- 
itual uplift.  The  evening  meeting  was  char- 
acterised by  intense  spiritual  interest.  After 
the  sermon  a  young  man  of  high  social  stand- 
ing and  influence,  who  had  been  a  church  mem- 
ber before  he  came  West,  but  who  had  fallen 
into  the  ways  of  the  world,  came  forward,  put 
his  hand  on  my  shoulder  in  a  friendly  way, 
confessing  that  he  had  been  living  a  fast  and 
loose  life,  but  was  now  determined  to  be  a  bet- 
ter man. 

216 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE   BOOK 

Jan.  13. — Monday  evening  small  attendance,  but 
deep  interest  prevailed. 

Jan.  14. — Largest  attendance  of  any  meeting  since 
the  beginning  but  no  marked  results. 

Jan.  15. — Seventy-five  persons  at  the  meeting  to- 
night, which  may  seem  very  small,  but  when 
we  consider  that  the  town  has  a  population  of 
less  than  four  hundred,  it  represents  an  au- 
dience for  which  to  be  thankful. 

Jan.  1 6. — Closing  meeting  with  reception  of  ten 
new  members  on  profession  of  faith  in  Christ. 
Closed  with  the  largest  attendance  of  any  of 
the  meetings.  Many  regrets  expressed  that 
they  could  not  be  continued  another  week.  It 
takes  nearly  two  weeks'  meetings  before  the 
people  become  aroused  and  awakened  to  such 
opportunities  offered  in  special  efforts  of  this 
kind. 

Jan.  17. — All  day  on  the  cars'  going  to  another  ap- 
pointment for  the  Sabbath.  Another  cold 

wave  has  come.  Landed  at  M station, 

where  there  is  nothing  but  a  section  house. 
No  one  to  meet  me.  Had  to  walk  three  miles 
into  the  country  to  find  entertainment,  facing 
a  fearful  blizzard  all  the  way. 

Jan.  1 8. — Saturday  a  day  of  rest  in  the  home  of 

a  Scotch  elder  whose  hospitality  is  free  and 

cordial.     On  the  banks   of  the  Yellowstone, 

his  little  home  of  three  rooms,  is  like  a  street 

217 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

car,  always  room  for  one  more.  For  me  the 
latch  string  has  always  been  out,  and  a  hearty 
welcome  on  all  occasions. 

Jan.  19. — Sunday  morning  very  cold.  Thermom- 
eter registers  forty-two  degrees  below  zero. 
.We  drove  three  miles  to  the  school  house, 
where  we  were  to  hold  service,  and  where  we 
organized  a  church  three  months  before  of  fif- 
teen members,  all  ranchers  and  their  families. 
When  we  reached  the  school  house  there  was 
no  fire.  It  seemed  like  a  very  cold  reception, 
and  imagination  was  not  required  to  be  very 
vivid  to  make  it  more  than  seeming.  It  was 
the  real  thing.  This  is  the  coldest  weather  I 
have  ever  experienced  in  this  or  any  other  coun- 
try. Some  consolation  in  the  fact,  as  they  tell 
us,  that  such  cold  weather  never  lasts  more 
than  two  or  three  days.  One  day  would  fully 
satisfy  me.  Yet  this  I  must  say,  that  I  have 
suffered  more  from  cold  in  San  Francisco  in 
the  month  of  August  than  I  suffer  here  in  this 
low  temperature.  There  is  perfect  stillness  in 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  smoke  from  the  chim- 
neys ascends  straight  towards  the  sky  without 
a  waver.  We  soon  had  the  school  house  com- 
fortably warm.  Twenty-three  persons  came 
to  the  service.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  ser- 
mon, I  announced  that  on  account  of  the  se- 
vere weather,  we  would  cancel  our  appointment 
218 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

for  the  evening.  Some  of  the  young  people 
spoke  out  in  the  meeting,  saying  that  they 
were  coming  to  the  Christian  Endeavour  meet- 
ting  anyhow.  I  took  it  as  rather  a  rebuke  to 
my  weakness,  so  I  told  them  if  they  could 
come,  I  could  also.  To  my  surprise,  in  the 
evening  there  were  thirty  present,  which  was 
certainly  a  good  congregation  under  such 
weather  conditions.  One  family  came  five 
miles  and  had  no  complaint  to  make  about  cold 
weather. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  service  I  rode  three 
miles  to  the  station,  where  I  had  to  take  the 
train  at  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  to  reach 
my  next  appointment.  The  only  sleeping  ac- 
commodation I  had  was  on  the  dining-room  ta- 
ble at  the  section  house.  But  I  was  thankful 
for  that,  as  I  had  plenty  of  fuel  and  a  stove  by 
my  side  to  keep  me  warm. 

Jan.  20. — Arrived  at  G early  in  the  afternoon, 

where  I  had  to  stay  all  night  to  get  the  stage 
next  morning  which  left  at  seven  o'clock. 

Jan.  21. — Rode  thirty-five  miles  by  stage  and  reached 
my  destination  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
It  was  really  a  very  pleasant  ride  through  a 
very  interesting  country.  A  Chinook  wind 
prevailed  raising  the  temperature  to  twenty- 
five  degrees  above  zero.  These  Chinook  winds 
nearly  always  follow  a  cold  spell  of  weather, 
219 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

which  are  a  puzzle  to  the  Weather  Bureau  and 
scientists  generally.  I  have  seen  a  foot  of 
snow  melt  away  in  eight  hours.  We  cannot 
tell  whence  they  come  nor  whither  they  go. 

Jan.  22. — F is  a  small  town  and  new,  with  few 

and  very  poor  accommodations.  The  only 
place  I  could  find  for  entertainment,  was  in  a 
lumber  yard  office,  through  the  kindness  of  the 
clerk,  who  allowed  me  to  share  his  bedroom, 
which  was  used  for  office  as  well.  Held  serv- 
ice two  nights  with  encouragement  to  organize 
a  church  later  in  the  season. 

Jan.  24. — Rode  twenty-five  miles  farther  on  to  a 
country  village  where  I  am  to  preach  and  ad- 
minister the  Lord's  Supper.  We  have  in  B 

a  nice  church  building  with  thirty  members, 
who  last  year  raised  seven  hundred  dollars  for 
support  of  their  minister.  At  the  present  time 
the  church  is  without  a  pastor.  Found  de- 
lightful and  hospitable  entertainment  at  the 
home  of  Elder  B ,  who  is  a  well-to-do  far- 
mer, living  two  miles  from  the  village. 

Jan.  27. — A  beautiful  Sabbath  morning,  moderately 
warm.  Preached  in  the  morning  to  an  audi- 
ence that  filled  the  church  to  the  extent  of  its 
seating  capacity.  Received  two  new  members 
and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper  to  as  in- 
telligent congregation  as  can  be  found  any- 
where. 

220 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

Jan.  28. — A  friend  took  me  to  the  railroad  ten 
miles  distant.  Crossed  the  Missouri  River  on 
the  ice.  Boarded  the  train  for  my  home  five 
hundred  miles  away,  where  I  knew  loving  ones 
were  anxiously  waiting  my  coming  and  I  was 
none  the  less  anxious  to  see  them. 

Jan.  29. — Reached  home  after  an  absence  of  four 
weeks.  Think  I  never  lacked  appreciation  of 
the  blessings  of  home,  but  after  such  a  trip  as 
just  described,  it  seems  a  little  more  precious 
than  when  it  is  an  uninterrupted  enjoyment. 

A  TYPICAL  WESTERN  TOWN 

The  town  of  Three  Forks  is  being  built  on  one 
of  the  most  historic  spots  in  Montana.  In  the  jour- 
nal of  Lewis  and  Clark,  when  on  their  exploration 
trip  in  1805,  there  is  written  the  following  record. 
"  The  southeast  fork  we  call  Gallatin's  river,  in 
honour  of  Albert  Gallatin,  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury; the  middle  fork  we  call  Madison's  river,  in 
honour  of  James  Madison,  Secretary  of  State;  and 
the  southwest  fork,  we  call  Jefferson's  river,  in 
honour  of  that  illustrious  personage,  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, President  of  the  United  States." 

The  meeting  place  of  these  three  rivers,  which 
form  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri,  is  not  only 
rich  in  historic  incidents,  but  also  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  spots  along  the  Rockies.  More  than  a 

221 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

• 

century  has  passed  since  the  encampment  of  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  exploring  party  on  this  historic 
spot. 

I  am  now  writing  in  a  hotel,  named  after  Saca- 
jawea,  the  Indian  girl  guide,  who  next  to  Lewis 
and  Clark  themselves  did  more  than  any  one  person 
toward  making  this  expedition  a  success. 

Sacajawea,  the  "Little  Bird  Woman"  as  she 
was  afterwards  called,  was  a  Shoshonee  Indian  girl 
who  had  been  captured  by  the  Black  foot  Indians, 
and  taken  East  to  the  Mandan  country  five  years 
before  Lewis  and  Clark  found  her.  She  was  res- 
cued by  them,  and  became  their  faithful  guide  and 
was  brought  back  to  her  native  country.  She  was  of 
invaluable  help,  for  to  her  natural  shrewdness  and 
wisdom,  the  success  of  the  expedition  is  largely  due. 
Sacajawea  lived  the  last  part  of  her  life  on  the 
Wind  River  Reservation  and  died  April  9th,  1884, 
almost  one  hundred  years  old.  There  was  erected 
in  Portland,  Oregon,  in  1905,  a  splendid  statue  of 
the  "Little  Bird  Woman"  Princess  of  the  Sho- 
shonees. 

Three  Forks  in  years  past  was  Indian  battle- 
ground. Here  numerous  Indian  trails  centred, 
and  the  tribes  gathered  and  camped,  preparatory 
to  going  on  their  big  buffalo  hunts  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  If  the  hills  and  plains  hereabouts 
could  speak  of  those  wild  days,  when  the  wigwams 
of  the  Indians  were  the  only  dwellings  in  this  beau- 

222 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE   BOOK 

tiful  valley  of  the  "  Shining  Mountains,"  what 
thrilling  tales  they  could  tell  ? 

Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  last 
few  years.  Two  transcontinental  railroads  pass 
through  this  valley,  and  only  four  years  ago,  Sep- 
tember, 1908,  the  little  city  of  Three  Forks  was 
christened,  and  is  growing  amidst  these  historic  as- 
sociations. Near  Three  Forks  three  other  small 
rivers  empty  into  the  Jefferson,  which  Lewis  and 
Clark  called,  Wisdom,  Philosophy  and  Philan- 
thropy, also  in  honour  of  President  Jefferson,  whom 
they  said,  was  "  the  embodiment  of  these  virtues." 
For  some  unexplainable  reason,  these  rivers  since 
have  been  called  Willow  Creek,  Big  Hole,  and 
Ruby. 

The  town  was  located  about  one  mile  West  of 
where  the  three  rivers  join  to  form  the  Missouri. 
It  received  its  impetus  by  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railroad,  making  it  a  division  point  for 
both  passenger  and  freight  trains.  It  was  the  writ- 
er's privilege  to  conduct  the  first  religious  service 
held  in  the  new  town  four  years  ago.  At  that 
time  there  were  about  one  dozen  buildings 
mostly  for  business  and  saloons.  The  people  lived 
in  tents.  There  were  thirteen  saloons  opened  be- 
fore the  town  had  a  population  of  three  hundred. 
They  have  since  been  reduced  to  eight,  and  the 
council  refuses  to  license  any  more. 

I  came  into  this  town  Saturday  morning,  and  at 
223 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

once  began  looking  around  for  some  place  to  hold 
religious  service  on  the  coming  Sabbath.  Fortu- 
nately I  found  an  empty  store-room,  that  was  to  be 
opened  for  business  the  next  Monday.  Some  boxes 
of  goods  were  already  stored  there,  and  the  flour 
was  covered  with  shavings  and  debris  the  carpen- 
ters had  left.  Providentially  I  found  a  good  Chris- 
tian man,  who  was  a  contractor,  engaged  in 
building  houses,  and  several  others  working  under 
him,  all  favourably  disposed  in  assisting  my  prepa- 
rations for  religious  service.  Empty  boxes  were 
found  and  placed  each  side  of  the  room.  Boards 
were  put  on  the  boxes  for  seats.  After  these  prepa- 
rations were  finished,  I  visited  the  tents,  the  few 
stores  already  doing  business  and  also  the  saloons, 
and  gave  them  all  a  personal  invitation  to  attend  the 
meeting.  There  were  only  a  few  women  in  the 
town  and  the  audience  Sabbath  morning  was  com- 
posed of  thirty-five  men  and  four  women.  There 
is  an  indefinable  fascination  about  these  new  towns, 
composed  mostly  of  young  people  full  of  hope  and 
energy.  This  one  especially,  entwined  by  rivers 
and  circled  by  mountains  snow-covered  many 
months  in  the  year,  appealed  to  my  sympathy  and 
interest  as  few  others  have  in  my  experience.  I 
made  arrangements  to  visit  them  once  a  month. 
Our  chief  difficulty  was  in  finding  a  place  to  hold 
our  service,  for  as  yet  there  was  no  school  house  or 
hall  of  any  kind  where  an  audience  could  be  as- 

224 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

sembled.  New  store  rooms  were  being  built  and 
our  services  were  generally  held  wherever  an 
empty  room  could  be  found.  On  my  fourth  visit 
I  started  out  to  raise  money  to  build  a  little  chapel. 
The  people  had  small  means  to  assist  in  such  an 
undertaking,  but  I  succeeded  in  raising  about  four 
hundred  dollars  and  begged  some  three  hundred 
more  from  friends  East  and  West,  from  near  and 
far.  In  six  weeks  we  had  our  little  Chapel  ready 
for  service. 

While  canvassing  the  town  for  money,  I  visited 
a  lady  whose  husband  was  a  leading  saloon  keeper. 
She  subscribed  ten  dollars,  and  requested  me  to  call 
on  her  husband  and  tell  him  to  give  the  same 
amount.  This  request  I  complied  with  and  called 
on  him  in  his  saloon,  at  the  time  full  of  men  drink- 
ing, playing  cards  and  having  a  good  time  generally. 
I  called  the  proprietor  to  one  side  and  made  known 
my  business.  He  very  willingly  subscribed  the 
same  amount  as  his  wife.  I  said  to  him  however, 
that  I  would  have  him  distinctly  understand  that  ac- 
cepting his  subscription  in  no  sense  meant  any  com- 
promise with  his  business,  and  that  the  church  stood 
for  temperance  and  sobriety.  He  gave  me  a  very 
interesting  look  and  asked  for  the  subscription  pa- 
per, which  I  surmised  was  for  the  purpose  of  eras- 
ing his  name  and  withdrawing  his  subscription.  In 
taking  the  paper,  he  said  to  me,  "  Parson,  I  guess 
you  are  kind  of  white,"  and  to  my  surprise  put 

225 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

down  ten  dollars  more,  went  to  his  money  drawer 
and  paid  it  in  cash. 

On  the  opening  day  of  our  little  chapel,  we  organ- 
ized a  church  of  twelve  members.  To  illustrate  the 
transient  character  of  the  population  in  a  town  of 
this  type,  one  year  later  all  but  two  of  these  mem- 
bers had  left  for  other  parts  of  the  country.  Others 
however  came  in  to  take  their  place.  The  town 
has  been  steadily  advancing  and  has  now  a  popula- 
tion of  about  twelve  hundred,  with  two  bank  build- 
ings, three  lumber  yards,  a  high-school  building, 
and  the  Sacajawea  Hotel,  costing  nearly  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  having  all  the  modern  conveniences, 
such  as  are  found  in  hotels  in  the  large  cities.  The 
town  has  electric  light,  cement  side-walks,  a  water 
and  sewer  system  underway,  a  branch  railroad  run- 
ning through  the  far  famed  Gallatin  Valley  to  Boze- 
man,  and  another  being  built  as  a  branch  line  to 
Helena,  and  every  indication  that  in  a  few  years 
there  will  be  a  population  of  five  thousand  people. 
The  little  chapel  was  soon  overcrowded.  An  addi- 
tion has  been  finished,  giving  a  seating  capacity  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty.  Another  denomination  was 
organized  later,  but  so  far  has  no  church  building. 
The  promising  future  justifies  another  organization. 
Preparations  are  being  made  for  a  more  pretentious 
building  the  coming  summer. 

To  the  stranger,  and  one  not  acquainted  with 
western  conditions,  this  little  city  seems  crude  and 

226 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

rough  as  he  looks  at  the  small  cottages  and  two- 
roomed  houses,  but  a  closer  observation  fascinates, 
because  of  the  buoyant,  energetic  and  wide-awake 
spirit  of  its  citizens.  Everything  indicates  that  in 
a  short  time  we  shall  have  here,  not  only  a  self-sup- 
porting church,  but  one  contributing  largely  to  the 
extension  of  the  Christian  cause  throughout  the 
world. 

AN    ISOLATED    COMMUNITY 

Clarke's  Fork  River,  on  leaving  the  Yellowstone 
Park  Reserve,  breaks  through  a  canyon  twenty-five 
miles  long.  Below  the  mouth  of  the  canyon,  there 
is  a  valley  from  five  to  ten  miles  wide,  extending 
down  the  river  several  miles,  where  the  mountains 
reach  out  an  arm  cut  in  two  by  the  swift  running 
water.  In  this  valley,  shut  in  by  the  mountains  on 
every  side,  about  fifty  families  have  taken  home- 
steads, attracted  by  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  fine 
climate.  The  nearest  railroad  station  is  twenty-five 
miles  distant.  A  few  are  settlers  of  an  early  date, 
but  most  of  them  are  recent  comers  in  this  pictur- 
esque valley.  They  came  from  the  Middle  States 
and  were  accustomed  to  religiqus  privileges  in  their 
former  homes.  Being  so  far  from  railroads,  the 
raising  of  alfalfa  hay,  is  the  chief  business  of  the 
ranchmen.  This  finds  a  ready  market  among  the 
sheep  and  cattle  men  who  herd  large  flocks  in  this 
western  corner  of  Wyoming.  Cody  is  the  county 

227 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

seat,  thirty-five  miles  distant,  and  most  of  the  year 
the  road  is  impassable  on  account  of  unbridged  rivers 
and  deep  snow.  Their  mail  comes  from  the  Mon- 
tana side  three  times  a  week.  Being  so  isolated  in 
this  corner  of  the  mountains,  they  are  cut  off  from 
all  centres  of  thickly  settled  communities.  Only  a 
few  tourists  find  this  lonely,  but  beautiful  spot 
among  the  mountains.  A  few  fishermen  have  dis- 
covered it  to  be  a  sportsman's  paradise.  The  settle- 
ment is  not  large  enough  to  support  a  town,  nor  even 
a  blacksmith  shop,  but  they  have  a  postofiice. 
Uncle  Sam  never  neglects  the  remotest  subjects  of 
his  kingdom. 

The  postofiice  is  at  the  end  of  the  stage  route, 
in  a  large  log  house,  where  the  occasional  traveller 
and  in  certain  seasons  sportsmen  are  entertained. 
These  settlers  being  mostly  Christian  people,  at  first 
keenly  felt  the  deprivation  of  religious  worship 
for  here  they  were  too  thinly  settled  and  scattered 
to  sustain  even  a  Sabbath-school. 

On  one  of  my  missionary  trips  I  met  a  ranch- 
man from  this  settlement,  who  was  on  his  annual 
visit  to  the  nearest  town  and  railroad  station 
to  buy  supplies  for  the  winter.  From  him  I 
learned  of  this  community  and  received  a  most 
pressing  invitation  to  visit  them  and  conduct  a  re- 
ligious service  in  their  school  house.  I  was  very 
much  impressed  with  his  earnest  desire  to  have  me 
do  something  for  them  in  a  religious  way.  He  told 

228 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

me  that  for  more  than  a  year  they  had  not  seen  a 
minister  or  missionary,  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
I  then  resolved  to  make  them  a  visit  on  the  first  oc- 
casion I  could  spare  from  pressing  engagements. 

It  was  about  six  months  later  when  I  found  the 
opportunity  to  visit  them.  It  was  a  long  and  dusty 
ride  in  the  heat  of  summer.  The  stage  route  led 
along  or  near  the  river  through  a  very  interesting 
though  rugged  country.  The  mistress  of  the  only 
house  where  entertainment  could  be  furnished,  was 
a  good  Christian  woman,  a  splendid  cook  and 
very  neat  housekeeper.  It  being  in  mid-summer, 
garden  vegetables  were  ripe,  and  they  were  certainly 
prepared  in  a  style  that  would  quicken  even  an  ordi- 
nary appetite.  The  good  lady  appreciated  my  visit, 
for  it  was  a  rare  privilege  to  entertain  a  minister 
in  her  home.  Not  only  vegetables  of  great  variety, 
but  fried  spring  chicken,  for  which  ministers  have 
some  reputation,  were  a  part  of  the  menu. 

The  following  incident  which  occurred  after 
supper  is  evidence  of  some  special  attention  she  gave 
me.  Two  fishermen  from  Billings  were  there 
spending  a  short  vacation.  After  supper,  we 
were  sitting  in  the  yard,  talking  over  the  day's 
catch  and  the  rattlesnakes  killed  and  those  seen 
and  not  killed,  the  big  fish  that  got  away  and  so  on. 
One  of  them  said  to  me,  "  Parson,  we  had  good 
living  before  you  came,  but  no  fried  chicken,  and 
if  your  presence  will  bring  forth  such  meals,  I  will 

229 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

willingly  pay  your  boarding  the  rest  of  the  week." 

The  postoffice  being  in  her  house,  we  did  not 
have  much  difficulty  in  notifying  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  religious  service  to  be  held  the  following 
Sabbath. 

It  is  seldom  the  privilege  of  the  preacher  to  ad- 
dress a  more  interesting  congregation  than  was 
gathered  in  that  log  school  house  on  this  occasion. 
Two  families  came  seven  miles  in  a  big  wagon, 
loaded  with  others  they  picked  up  on  the  way.  The 
school  house  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
The  inspiring  influence  of  that  service  to  the 
preacher  cannot  be  described  in  words.  It  is  very 
different  from  preaching  to  audiences  accustomed 
to  hear  the  Gospel  every  week.  There  is  an  appre- 
ciation and  interest  that  make  such  a  service  mu- 
tually helpful  to  the  minister  and  the  people. 

There  are  many  districts  in  the  West  similar  to 
this  one  just  described,  that  are  without  adequate 
Gospel  privileges,  and  in  fact  without  any  religious 
service  whatever.  There  is  however  this  difference, 
that  many  of  these  communities  have  settled  down 
to  stolid  indifference  and  religious  apathy,  from 
which  they  are  hard  to  arouse. 

After  the  service  they  gathered  around  me 
with  expressions  of  sincerest  thankfulness  for  my 
coming,  and  plead  for  a  regular  service,  pledging 
support  as  they  were  able. 

I  mention  this  incident  because  it  presents  one 
230 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

of  the  problems  yet  to  be  solved  in  furnishing  ade- 
quate Gospel  privileges  to  all  the  people.  A  regular 
minister  in  a  community  like  this  would  have  to  be 
supported  almost  entirely  by  the  board  of  home  mis- 
sions. The  people  are  willing  to  give  liberally  ac- 
cording to  their  means,  but  their  ability  to  give  is 
very  limited.  Furthermore,  there  is  no  possibility 
for  a  community  like  this  one  to  make  much  growth 
in  the  future.  In  time  these  new  settlers  will  be 
able  to  give  larger  support,  but  their  number  will 
increase  very  little  on  account  of  the  limited  amount 
of  land  available. 

However  arrangements  were  made  for  a  summer 
service  by  a  student  from  the  seminary  and  an  oc- 
casional visit  provided  for  during  the  winter  sea- 
son. This  is  the  best  we  have  been  able  to  do  for 
this  isolated  community.  Since  my  last  visit,  a 
church  of  small  membership  has  been  organized  and 
all  efforts  possible  have  been  put  forth  to  give  them 
preaching  as  often  as  practicable  with  other  duties 
and  obligations.  How  little  we  know  of  the  de- 
privations of  these  good  people,  who  for  love  of  a 
home  they  can  call  their  own,  live  in  this  isolation 
and  separation  from  the  great  centres  of  population. 
Very  few  western  towns  of  two  hundred  popula- 
tion and  upwards  are  without  the  means  of  grace, 
or  the  ministrations  of  some  organized  church. 

There  are  nevertheless  many  country  communi- 
ties of  from  twenty  to  fifty  families,  with  post- 
231 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

office  and  school  houses,  that  have  practically  no 
religious  instruction  through  the  preaching  of  the 
Word  of  God.  Some  are  as  religiously  neglected 
as  if  in  a  heathen  country. 

How  these  communities  are  to  have  the  Gospel 
preached  to  them,  and  where  the  men  are  to  be 
found  who  will  minister  to  them,  remains  a  prob- 
lem still  to  be  solved  by  the  missionary  boards  of 
our  several  churches. 

A  JAPANESE  PRAYER-MEETING 

When  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul 
R.  R.  was  building  the  Pacific  &  Puget  Sound  ex- 
tension through  Montana,  many  Japanese  were  em- 
ployed. They  were  generally  used  for  some  special 
labour  that  required  a  small  number  of  men,  such 
as  cement  work  on  foundations  for  water  tanks, 
culverts  and  bridges.  The  Musselshell  River, 
along  which  the  road  runs  one  hundred  fifty  miles, 
flows  through  a  narrow  valley  and  is  crooked  as 
the  area  of  the  valley  will  allow,  zig-zagging  from 
one  side  to  the  other. 

It  was  necessary  in  obtaining  a  reasonably 
straight  line  to  build  bridges  where  it  was  not  prac- 
tical to  change  the  channel  of  the  river.  The  foun- 
dations of  these  bridges  and  all  the  culverts  were 
laid  in  cement.  A  gang  of  about  twenty-five  Jap- 
anese was  employed  in  this  kind  of  work  for  more 
than  a  year,  with  headquarters  at  Harlowton. 

232 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE   BOOK 

I  was  frequently  called  to  Harlowton  during  that 
period,  where  we  had  organized  a  church,  but  up 
to  that  date  had  been  unable  to  secure  a  minister 
for  the  field. 

Hearing  from  various  sources,  all  quite  vague 
and  indefinite,  that  the  Japanese  held  a  prayer-meet- 
ing every  Sabbath  evening  in  their  bunkhouse  near 
the  depot,  I  determined  to  investigate  and  if  pos- 
sible discover  the  facts  in  the  case,  though  some- 
what sceptical  as  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  report. 
The  prayer-meeting  was  said  to  be  held  at  six-thirty 
in  the  evening,  and  as  my  service  was  held  at  eight, 
there  was  time  to  attend  their  meeting  before  my 
own.  I  found  their  headquarters  in  /  a  building 
about  sixty  by  twenty  feet,  with  kitchen  at  one 
end  and  dining-hall  at  the  other.  It  was  a  tempo- 
rary building  covered  with  tar  paper.  At  both  ends 
of  this  building  there  were  bunkhouses  of  like  con- 
struction with  double-deck  sleeping  berths.  On  en- 
tering the  dining-room,  I  found  two  Japs  clearing 
away  the  dishes,  their  supper  having  just  been  fin- 
ished. 

I  made  inquiry  as  to  whether  a  prayer-meeting 
was  to  be  held,  and  if  so  at  what  hour.  The  cook 
could  not  speak  English  as  well  as  he  could  under- 
stand it;  our  conversation  was  a  little  like  hearing 
someone  talk  through  a  telephone.  The  cook  evi- 
dently understood  my  question,  but  could  not  an- 
swer in  my  language,  so  he  pointed  to  a  notice 

233 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

written  in  Japanese  letters  hung  on  the  side  wall  of 
the  dining-room.  The  notice  to  me  was  about  as 
intelligible  as  chicken  scratches.  However  I  noticed 
six-thirty  written  in  figures  I  could  understand,  and 
concluded  the  meeting  was  to  be  held  at  that  time. 
In  a  few  minutes  a  Jap  came  in  from  the  bunkhouse 
carrying  a  hymn  book  and  Bible.  Soon  another 
followed  and  another  until  nineteen  were  seated 
around  the  dining-room  table.  One  who  was  a  lit- 
tle better  dressed  than  the  others  (they  appeared 
in  their  working  clothes)  took  his  place  at  the  end 
of  the  table.  He  proved  to  be  their  leader  or  chap- 
lain, and  the  only  one  among  them  who  could 
converse  in  English.  He  came  to  me  before  the 
meeting  commenced  and  inquired  my  wish.  When 
I  told  him  I  was  a  minister  and  interested  in  their 
meeting,  he  was  very  cordial  and  thanked  me  for 
coming. 

The  meeting  was  conducted  as  our  own  ordinary 
prayer-meetings,  except  as  it  seemed  to  me,  there 
was  more  spontaneity  and  reverence.  The  leader 
in  opening  the  meeting  gave  out  a  hymn  and  all 
joined  heartily  in  that  part  of  the  service.  Their 
voices  were  much  more  musical  than  the  Chinese 
type  and  to  me  were  very  pleasant  and  worshipful. 
Their  song  books  and  Bibles  were  printed  in  Jap- 
anese language.  The  tunes,  and  I  presume  the 
words,  were  the  familiar  gospel  hymns  we  com- 
monly use  in  religious  worship.  After  singing  the 

234 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE   BOOK 

opening  hymn,  the  leader  made  a  very  short  but 
earnest  prayer.  During  the  prayer  he  stood,  while 
the  rest  reverently  bowed  their  heads  on  the  table. 

After  the  preliminaries  the  leader  read  the  scrip- 
tures, while  the  others  opened  their  Bibles  and  fol- 
lowed the  reading  throughout.  Then  the  leader 
made  a  short  address,  which  to  one  who  could  not 
understand  a  word,  was  impressive  on  account  of 
his  earnest  manner  and  devout  spirit.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  his  remarks,  I  was  called  upon  to  speak, 
which  I  gladly  did,  but  with  considerable  embar- 
rassment from  the  fact  I  was  speaking  an  unknown 
tongue  to  all  but  one  of  my  audience.  I  was  very 
brief,  simply  commending  them  for  their  loyalty 
and  faithfulness  to  the  religious  phase  of  their  life, 
expressing  my  pleasure  in  being  with  them,  and 
invited  them  to  attend  my  evening  meeting  to  be 
held  at  a  later  hour. 

The  leader,  as  far  as  I  could  understand  inter- 
preted the  substance  of  my  talk,  for  six  of  them 
were  present  at  my  evening  meeting.  After  my 
remarks,  another  hymn  was  sung,  and  the  meeting 
was  open  for  voluntary  testimony  and  prayer.  Not 
a  moment  was  waisted  by  silence  or  one  waiting 
for  another.  Five  or  six  took  voluntary  part. 
The  whole  service  was  characterized  with  a  devo- 
tional and  reverential  spirit  that  left  a  very  deep 
and  abiding  impression  on  my  mind.  It  was  not 
emotional,  but  apparently  thoughtful  and  rational. 

235 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

The  Japanese  are  philosophical,  rather  than  emo- 
tional in  their  make-up,  and  if  ever  they  are  to  be 
converted,  it  will  not  be  in  what  we  commonly  call 
revival  meetings.  They  are  not  influenced  by  senti- 
ment or  emotional  rhetoric.  The  appeal  must 
reach  them  through  the  head,  rather  than  the  heart. 

Before  the  meeting  closed,  there  was  a  little  in- 
cident happened,  which  illustrates  their  refined 
courtesy,  and  which  is  worthy  of  notice.  The 
leader  feared  that  I  might  be  late  for  my  service 
which  had  been  announced,  and  crediting  me  for 
the  courtesy  that  would  prevent  my  leaving  before 
the  closing,  he  left  his  seat  at  the  end  of  the  table 
and  came  to  me  in  the  rear,  saying  that  he  would  be 
glad  to  have  me  remain,  but  if  in  doing  so  I  would 
be  detained  too  long,  he  would  excuse  my  leaving 
any  time  I  wished.  I  appreciated  exceedingly  this 
act  of  gentlemanly  etiquette  and  thanked  him  for 
his  thoughtful  consideration. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting  as  they  passed 
out,  each  one  gave  me  a  cordial  handshake.  The 
leader  being  the  last,  I  took  the  opportunity  to  ask 
a  few  questions  which  he  kindly  answered.  I  was 
not  a  little  surprised  to  learn  that  eighteen  of  the 
number  were  professed  Christians  and  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  I  learned  also  that  about 
half  of  them  were  converted  in  the  Presbyterian 
Mission  in  Tokio,  Japan,  and  the  rest  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Japanese  Mission  in  Seattle,  Wash.,  sus- 

236 


LEAVES  FROM  MY  DIARY  AND  NOTE  BOOK 

tained  by  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  of  which 
Rev.  M.  A.  Matthews,  D.  D.,  is  pastor.  They 
had  all  been  associated  with  this  mission,  and  when 
they  went  out  as  employees  on  the  railroad,  they 
were  counselled  and  exhorted  to  help  each  other 
and  to  hold  a  prayer-meeting  every  Sabbath.  The 
leader  informed  me  that  they  had  been  out  two 
years  and  during  that  time  never  once  omitted  this 
Sabbath  evening  prayer-meeting. 

My  reflections  on  leaving  this  prayer-meeting  sug- 
gested the  question,  where  in  America  can  there  be 
found  a  band  of  common  labourers  associated  to- 
gether by  such  ties  of  practical  fellowship  and  loy- 
alty to  God,  that  will  compare  with  the  faithfulness 
of  these  Christian  foreigners  as  illustrated  in  the 
above  incident. 

It  reminded  me  also  of  the  Centurion  whose 
daughter  Christ  healed.  The  Centurion's  request 
and  prayer  to  Christ  for  the  healing  of  his  daugh- 
ter manifested  such  implicit  faith,  that  "  when 
Jesus  heard  these  things  he  marvelled  at  him,  and 
turned  and  said  to  the  multitude  that  followed,  '  I 
say  unto  you  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no, 
not  in  Israel/  '  So  I  felt  as  I  witnessed  the  faith 
of  these  Japanese,  that  I  had  not  found  so  great 
faith  in  Christian  America. 

There  is  a  sequel  to  this  story  I  regret  to  relate, 
but  shall  do  so  for  the  rebuke  its  shame  may  of- 
fer. The  next  morning  after  this  prayer-meeting 

237 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

incident,  while  waiting  at  the  depot  for  the  train, 
I  saw  a  group  of  these  same  Japs  working  on  a 
switch  leading  from  the  main  track.  Wishing  to 
observe  them  at  work  as  well  as  in  their  devotions, 
I  went  to  them  and  with  a  salute  bade  them  good 
morning.  They  were  working  under  an  American 
boss.  While  watching  them,  one  of  their  number 
made  a  mistroke  with  his  hammer  which  seemed 
to  anger  the  boss  beyond  reason.  He  immediately 
let  out  a  stream  of  oaths  so  terribly  blasphemous 
as  to  make  even  a  hardened  sinner  shudder.  I 
said  to  myself,  What  will  this  Christian  Jap  think 
of  Christian  America?  What  would  be  his 
thoughts  of  the  people  who  brought  him  the  Gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  people  of  whom  he 
might  have  expected  better  things. 

May  God  speed  all  foreign  missionary  endeavour, 
and  may  it  widen  and  deepen  until  all  nations  shall 
know  our  Christ  and  the  story  of  His  redemption, 
but  let  us  also  be  reminded  that  the  Christianizing 
of  America,  is  doing  the  most  for  the  Christian- 
izing the  world,  for  as  goes  the  Anglo  Saxon  race, 
so  will  be  the  final  destiny  of  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world. 


238 


APPENDIX 


TABLE  NO.  i 

This  table  shows  how  much  more  can  be  raised 
to  the  acre,  though  to  the  Easterner,  the  soil  looks 
barren  and  unproductive. 

Comparative  yields  for  1909,  Compiled  from  the 
Government  Crop  Reporter  Published  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  Agriculture,  December,  1909. 


Bu.  per 
STATE  Acre 

Wheat 
Montana    . . .    30.6 

Illinois    17-4 

Iowa    18.1 

Missouri    . . .     14.7 

Kansas    13.0 

Nebraska  ...  16.7 
Minnesota  . .  16.8 
Wisconsin  . .  19.7 
Michigan  . . .  18.8 

Indiana 15.3 

Ohio    15.9 

North  Dakota    13.7 
South  Dakota    14.1 
United 
States    15.8 


Bu.  per 

Bu.  per 

Bu.  per 

Bu.  per 

Bu.  per 

Acre 

Acre 

Acre 

Acre 

Acre 

Oats 

Barley 

Rye 

Flax 

Potatoes 

51-3 

38.0 

29.0 

I2.O 

180 

36.6 

28.0 

17.8 

.  

9i 

27.0 

22.0 

17.8 

9,8 

89 

27.0 

25.0 

15.0 

8.1 

85 

28.2 

1  8.0 

14.0 

7-0 

79 

25.0 

22.O 

16.5 

8-5 

78 

33-0 

23.6 

19.0 

IO.O 

155 

35-0 

28.0 

16.3 

14.0 

IO2 

30.5 

247 

15.5 



105 

30.5 

23-5 

16.5 



95 

32.5 

25.9 

17.2 



93 

32.0 

21.0 

18.3 

9-3 

no 

30.0 

19.5 

I7.S 

9.4 

80 

30.3      24.3        16.1 
239 


9.4       106 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 
TABLE  NO.  2 


Official  Reports  Showing  the  Products  of  Montana. 
Classified  for  1909. 

FARM,  FIELD  AND  ORCHARD 

Hay    $15,000,000 

Wheat    9,337,000 

Potatoes  and  other  vegetables 8,400,000 

Oats    7,840,000 

Fruits  and  Orchard  products 7,500,000 

Barley    1,600,000 

Sugar   Beets    1,500,000 

Rye    r 1,180,000 

Flax   150,000 


Total    : $52,507,000 

LIVE  STOCK  AND  WOOL 

Cattle $10,000,000 

Wool    8,000,000 

Sheep    8,000,000 

Lambs 4,000,000 

Horses    1,250,000 

Hogs    350,000 


Total    $31,600,000 

MINERAL  PRODUCTION 

Qopper $43,000,000 

.Silver    8,000,000 

Gold    4,000,000 

Lead    2,250,000 

Coal    7,500,000 

Stone , 11,500,000 


Total    $66,250,000 

FOREST  PRODUCTS 

Lumber,  ties,  etc $  6,000,000 

240 


APPENDIX 

RECAPITULATION 

Farm  and  Orchard  $  52,507,000 

Livestock  and  wool   23,600,000 

Home   consumption    36,000,000 

Mineral 66,250,000 

Forest  products 6,000,000 


Grand    total $184,357,000 

TABLE  NO.  3 


Showing  percentage  of  growth  in  Montana  for  ten 
years. 

Per  cent 

1900  1910  Increase 

All  Farms   $       13,37°  $        25,496  94 

Total  Acreage    8,344,000  13,499,000  64 

Improved   Acreage    1,726,000  3,631,000  no 

Average   acre   per   farm.              624  520 
Value      of      land      and 

buildings    55,026,000  250,485,000  355 

Value  of  land    45,686,000  225,819,000  394 

Value  of  buildings   9,340,000  24,666,000  164 

Value  of  implements  and 

machinery    3,672,000  10,522,000  187 

Average   value    per    acre 

of  land  buildings    6.59  18.56  182 

Average  value  per  acre.            548  16.73  205 


TABLE  NO.  4 


Comparison  of  Temperature  with  other  localities 
covering  a  period  of  ten  years. 

Average  temperature:  Miles  City  44.3;  La 
Crosse  45.9;  Houghton  40.2;  Pierre  45.6;  Dubuque 

241 


SPIRITUAL  CONQUEST  ALONG  THE  ROCKIES 

47.9;  Average  wind  velocity  for  Miles  City  six 
miles  per  hour. 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June 

Miles  City  , 14.5  16.8  28.6  44.7  56.7  66.0 

La   Crosse   ..15.2  184  30.9  47.3  59.5  69.2 

Houghton    14.5  16.0  23.8  36.9  49.7  59.4 

Pierre    13.9  16.9  29.5  46.5  59.3  68.9 

Dubuque 18.3  21.6  33.2  49.9  60.8  69.6 

July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

Miles   City   72.9  71.5  61.2  46.5  30.9  21.0 

La   Crosse    72.6  70.0  61.7  49.9  33.8  22.8 

Houghton    65.3  63.3  56.1  45.1  31.5  20.9 

Dubuque    74.7  72.0  63.6  52.0  36.0  24.5 


THE  END 


242 


